Ever watched a Big John video? He’s a big guy from London who films himself eating food that’d probably floor me. I watched one video where he ordered three pies and two scoops of mash potato and some swamp-like sauce. Proper hearty food he calls it, then he said “bosh”, and apparently he says bosh a lot.
Video game mega-developer Riot Games has inexplicably hired Big John to play landlord in an East London pub for a weekend – 19th to 21st June – that it’ll deck out with Valorant pint glasses and beer-tap labels, and where you can watch the ongoing Valorant Masters event (also hosted in London) for free. The pints won’t be free, though.
The idea is to capture the “quintessential British matchday pub” experience, according to a press release, so expect lots of beer and pies and shouting and maybe some tears of emotion. Though I’m not entirely sure a Valorant crowd will behave in the same way as a football one. I cringe at the thought of it, actually, but who am I to judge?
The pub in question is The Phoenix Arms in Hackney Bridge, and it’ll be decked out with Valorant team flags, memorabilia, and custom pub signage. There’ll be live match screenings and of course there’ll be Big John. Sadly it remains unconfirmed as to whether he’ll be serving – or indeed eating – any food.
The Valorant Masters itself is taking place within the Copper Box Arena up until 21st June. The arena was first built for the British Olympics back in 2012. It’s a popular location for tier-one esports events, with Riot Games using the venue for a League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational.
During this Masters event, a new map reveal for Valorant will occur. The game introduced a Croatian character called Miks earlier this year, a music-minded controller able to use sonic abilities to keep the opposing team playing to his tempo (sorry).
