Live broadcasting can be a real challenge, especially when it comes to esports. There’s always a risk of production issues such as game crashes or bugs interrupting the show. But recently, Valorant fans witnessed something different during the VCT Americas broadcast that caused a bit of a stir. Viewers were spamming the word “seizure” in chat because of rapidly flashing lights that remained on screen for several seconds.

These kinds of issues are not uncommon during live events, and it takes an entire team to ensure a smooth broadcast. However, it’s rare for a production mistake to actually harm viewers at home. In this case, though, the technical issue with the VCT Americas Week 4 Day 2 match between 100 Thieves and KRÜ caused some serious problems. The “No Signal” screen with flashing lights was so bad that some viewers were calling it “seizure-inducing”, and it happened more than once during the broadcast.

WARNING: This video clip contains rapidly flashing lights & may induce seizures.

People in Twitch chat and the live match thread were freaking out about the severity of the issue. One Reddit user even said they’d never complain about production issues in other leagues again, because at least they’re not trying to kill their audiences! Tarik had to tab off the VCT Americas stream during his co-stream to save his audience’s eyes from the flashing lights.

Thankfully, the issue was eventually fixed after a few instances during the opening matches. But it just goes to show that even with a team of professionals, things can go wrong during a live broadcast.