Riot reintroduces Sunset to Valorant competitive pool

Riot Games has decided to rotate Valorant’s competitive map pool by replacing the controversial Fracture with Sunset.

The rotation will take effect with Patch 10.08, scheduled for release on April 29, 2025. This decision is regarded as a response to community criticism of Fracture’s unbalanced design and gameplay, which many professional players found frustrating.

It should be noted that the change will not apply immediately to the ongoing Valorant Champions Tour. Instead, Riot has confirmed that the VCT map pool will only be updated after Masters Toronto (June 7–22, 2025). This delay is likely due to ongoing regional Stage 1 qualifiers, where the top three teams from each region will secure spots at Masters Toronto.

Fracture had only been reintroduced to the map pool in January 2025 after a year-long absence but surprisingly faced intense backlash from players despite its return. The decision to delay the map pool update for VCT will ensure competitive stability during the critical Stage 1 qualifiers.