Valorant Finally Enables First Non-Binary Character in Esports Circuit: Everything You Need to Know About Clove

There is no doubt that queer representation is important for the community. While this is true in conventional forms of media like film and television, so is the case for video games. In a previous post, we highlighted the latest GLAAD report on gaming LGBTQ representation, including findings revealing that 17% of gamers identify as LGBTQ – a slight growth from 10% of active LGBTQ gamers recorded in Nielsen's Games360 study in 2020.

However, there is less than 2% of queer representation in video games. Currently, one in five active gamers is LGBTQ. This is unfortunate, as the report also highlighted that 72% of LGBTQ gamers said seeing characters sharing their sexual orientation or gender identity "makes them feel better about themselves".

Fortunately, many video game developers and companies have pivoted towards more queer representation in their releases. While not as explicitly or frequently found in other forms of media, there has certainly been a positive shift towards more LGBTQ representation in gaming over the past few years. One such game is Riot Games' Valorant, the tactical first-person shooter taking over the esports scene.

Aside from colorful, high-octane, and high-stakes gunplay, Valorant also attracts gamers from diverse backgrounds, some of whom are LGBTQ – a few of whom compete professionally in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), Riot's official esports circuit for the game. At the same time, Valorant recently debuted the game's first non-binary character, Clove, who made their VCT debut in week 3 of the league's regional tournaments. The debut comes after a slight postponement as the character was initially disabled for pro play due to an undisclosed bug that developers found.

In this post, we'll take a closer look at Clove and their potential impact on Valorant's esports scene. We'll also briefly look at the other ways Valorant has committed to providing diverse LGBTQ representation through the game.

The Valorant esports scene

Before we can understand the implication of Clove's introduction into the game and its esports scene, it's important to understand how Valorant's esports structure works. Released in 2020, Riot Games took no time establishing its official esports circuit with the First Strike tournaments that took place across various regions worldwide.

For those familiar with other esports leagues, the Valorant structure may seem similar. Teams compete in their respective regional leagues to qualify for mid-season Masters tournaments and then the VCT World Championship (Champs) to cap off the season. Aside from the main circuit, Riot also established the Challengers circuit for non-partnered teams, where the season's Challengers champion earns a spot in the main VCT for Masters and Champs. Most importantly, Riot also established the Game Changers circuit, which provides a competitive avenue for women and gamers from marginalized genders to compete professionally and even internationally.

Throughout each VCT season and the other circuits, fans show support for their favorite teams and players by attending and viewing games and tournaments. Some fans also take it a step further by betting using their in-game and meta-knowledge. Based on this Valorant betting guide, fans can study past and ongoing games to predict match outcomes on various odds, such as which team or player would get the First Kill, the total number of kills, map duration, and the standard Match Winner outcome.

Currently, teams are about to complete their regional playoffs to qualify for the second Masters of the season, set to be held in Shanghai. Meanwhile, the season is set to end in Seoul, South Korea, where fans will be able to watch the best of the best lift the ultimate World Championship trophy.

How does Clove play into all this?

Clove is the latest addition to Valorant's growing roster of diverse characters – also called agents. Like those before them, Clove has a kit of abilities that can help change round and match outcomes. Prior to their official announcement and release, fans were left to speculate on Clove's abilities and potential impact on the game based on early Valorant Agent 25 leaks. The leaks confirmed Clove was a Controller agent, which makes them responsible for "smoking off" angles in maps. These smokes help deny information to enemy teams and help the team manage map control, giving them the advantage to win round objectives.

At the same time, fans were excited to learn more about the Scottish agent as they were rumored to have self-revive abilities. Only a few characters in the current Valorant roster have revival abilities, with one being able to revive teammates. Being able to restore themselves makes Clove an exciting agent as they can be an advantage to win clutch rounds when enemies least expect it.

During the build-up to Clove's release, fans spotted numerous butterfly-related motifs and a pink and purple aesthetic. Fans have also noted that the butterfly imagery heavily associated with Clove goes hand in hand with the concept of rebirth, which perfectly encapsulates the queer and trans experience while also a nod towards their self-revive ability.

Clove in the VCT

At the time of writing, fans have yet to see Clove heavily used in the VCT circuits since Riot's announcement that the agent is now enabled for competitive play. Chinese team FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) was the first to debut the character at the VCT China regular season in a match against Bilibili Gaming (BLG), albeit to slightly undesirable results and an eventual loss. FPX and the rest of VCT China's region are known for some of the more explosive and fast-paced Valorant gameplay, and teams in the region are no strangers to innovating team compositions that other regions deem too unconventional.

Unfortunately, fans are yet to see too many international results from the relatively new region – Riot had only announced the VCT China region in 2023, joining the previously established Americas, EMEA, and Pacific. In March, FPX and fans were left disappointed after the roster was eliminated from VCT Masters Madrid by Brazilian titans LOUD, who are also former World Champions, after lifting the coveted trophy at the end of the 2022 VCT season. However, FPX is currently waiting to qualify for the upcoming Masters Shanghai for potential redemption – and maybe more Clove gameplay – if they can make it out of the China playoffs.

VCT Game Changers player and former Game Changers Champion Florescent, who plays for Shopify Rebellion (SR), was the first to debut Clove in the Game Changers circuit to more favorable results. Of course, Florescent is notorious for being one of the best in the Game Changers league, constantly putting up high numbers by getting kills to gain an advantage for their team, so Clove's self-revive ability fits very well into the aggressive playstyle required to make this happen.

Valorant and the LGBTQ community

Finally, while Clove is Valorant's first non-binary character, the game is no stranger to LGBTQ representation. Notably, the game pleasantly surprised queer fans after officially confirming an in-game sapphic relationship between two existing characters – Killjoy and Raze. What was once a queer but fanmade relationship was canonically confirmed, and Riot Games has since fed fans with the occasional content celebrating Killjoy and Raze's relationship.

Meanwhile, the in-game queer representation comes hand in hand with the game's demographic of players, some of whom are queer and in the LGBTQ community. This may be due to the game's more encouraging representation of the community and women in general, who are still considered a marginalized section in many areas of gaming.

For example, Counter-Strike 2, another tactical first-person shooter, recently made headlines for the lack of CS2 female in-game skins. While players can pay for male and female cosmetic skins, there are no female skins available for free or by default. In contrast, many of Valorant's most viable and used characters at the esports level are women characters.

While we're yet to see the full impact of Clove's introduction into Valorant's esports scene, they are also a great step forward for even more LGBTQ representation in the game in the coming future.