{"id":1997612,"date":"2026-06-18T13:49:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1997612"},"modified":"2026-06-18T13:49:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:49:52","slug":"for-some-reason-riot-games-is-creating-a-valorant-pub-in-east-london-hosted-by-a-british-takeaway-guy-who-likes-to-yell-bosh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1997612","title":{"rendered":"For some reason, Riot Games is creating a Valorant &#8216;pub&#8217; in east London hosted by a British takeaway guy who likes to yell &#8220;bosh!&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/valorant\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Valorant<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">For some reason, Riot Games is creating a Valorant &#8216;pub&#8217; in east London hosted by a British takeaway guy who likes to yell &#8220;bosh!&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Stella work.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/big-john-valorant-pub.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A bald-headed white man folds his arms on the bar of a pub and looks, with a welcoming expression, towards the camera. He&apos;ll serve you some beer. I think.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"big-john-valorant-pub.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"320\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Riot Games<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"additional_authors\">\n                <span class=\"by\">Additional contributions by<\/span><br \/>\n                  <span class=\"name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/robert-purchese\">Robert Purchese<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-06-18T13:49:52+00:00\">June 18, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/valorant-masters-pub-big-john-hackney-london?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          8 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"7b67e2b9-9fb1-4e1b-a723-8240063aea40\" data-name=\"Valorant\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Valorant\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Valorant\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Valorant\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Valorant\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Valorant\" title=\"Follow Valorant\"><br \/>\n  Follow Valorant<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Ever watched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@boshtokk\">a Big John video<\/a>? He&#8217;s a big guy from London who films himself eating food that&#8217;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 &#8220;bosh&#8221;, and apparently he says bosh a lot.<\/p>\n<p>Video game mega-developer Riot Games has inexplicably hired Big John to play landlord in an East London pub for a weekend &#8211; 19th to 21st June &#8211; that it&#8217;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&#8217;t be free, though.<\/p>\n<figure data-count=\"2\" role=\"group\">\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Three full pint glasses stand on a bar, waiting to be demolished. They have Valorant logos on the glasses. There are no hands in sight.\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/pints.jpeg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Three full pint glasses stand on a bar, waiting to be demolished. They have Valorant logos on the glasses. There are no hands in sight.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"pints.jpeg\" height=\"2048\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A big white chap with a bald head stands with his arms folded on some beer pump handles in a pub. A couple of lonely pints stand on the bar in front of him. Go ahead, he&apos;s almost saying, drink them. If you dare.\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/big-john.jpeg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A big white chap with a bald head stands with his arms folded on some beer pump handles in a pub. A couple of lonely pints stand on the bar in front of him. Go ahead, he&apos;s almost saying, drink them. If you dare.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"big-john.jpeg\" height=\"2048\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<\/figure><figcaption>Big John and some pints. The best of friends.  | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Riot Games<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The idea is to capture the &#8220;quintessential British matchday pub&#8221; experience, according to a press release, so expect lots of beer and pies and shouting and maybe some tears of emotion. Though I&#8217;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?<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The pub in question is The Phoenix Arms in Hackney Bridge, and it&#8217;ll be decked out with Valorant team flags, memorabilia, and custom pub signage. There&#8217;ll be live match screenings and of course there&#8217;ll be Big John. Sadly it remains unconfirmed as to whether he&#8217;ll be serving &#8211; or indeed eating &#8211; any food.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s a popular location for tier-one esports events, with Riot Games using the venue for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/league-of-legends\">League of Legends<\/a> Mid-Season Invitational.<\/p>\n<p>During this Masters event, <a href=\"https:\/\/valorantesports.com\/en-GB\/news\/new-map-reveal-showmatch-at-masters-london-grand-finals\">a new map reveal for Valorant will occur<\/a>. 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).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Ever watched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@boshtokk\">a Big John video<\/a>? He&#8217;s a big guy from London who films himself eating food that&#8217;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 &#8220;bosh&#8221;, and apparently he says bosh a lot.<\/p>\n<p>Video game mega-developer Riot Games has inexplicably hired Big John to play landlord in an East London pub for a weekend &#8211; 19th to 21st June &#8211; that it&#8217;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&#8217;t be free, though.<\/p>\n<figure data-count=\"2\" role=\"group\">\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Three full pint glasses stand on a bar, waiting to be demolished. They have Valorant logos on the glasses. There are no hands in sight.\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/pints.jpeg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Three full pint glasses stand on a bar, waiting to be demolished. They have Valorant logos on the glasses. There are no hands in sight.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"pints.jpeg\" height=\"2048\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A big white chap with a bald head stands with his arms folded on some beer pump handles in a pub. A couple of lonely pints stand on the bar in front of him. Go ahead, he&apos;s almost saying, drink them. If you dare.\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/big-john.jpeg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A big white chap with a bald head stands with his arms folded on some beer pump handles in a pub. A couple of lonely pints stand on the bar in front of him. Go ahead, he&apos;s almost saying, drink them. If you dare.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"big-john.jpeg\" height=\"2048\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.6669921875\" width=\"1366\"><\/p>\n<\/figure><figcaption>Big John and some pints. The best of friends.  | <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Riot Games<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The idea is to capture the &#8220;quintessential British matchday pub&#8221; experience, according to a press release, so expect lots of beer and pies and shouting and maybe some tears of emotion. Though I&#8217;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?<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The pub in question is The Phoenix Arms in Hackney Bridge, and it&#8217;ll be decked out with Valorant team flags, memorabilia, and custom pub signage. There&#8217;ll be live match screenings and of course there&#8217;ll be Big John. Sadly it remains unconfirmed as to whether he&#8217;ll be serving &#8211; or indeed eating &#8211; any food.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s a popular location for tier-one esports events, with Riot Games using the venue for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/league-of-legends\">League of Legends<\/a> Mid-Season Invitational.<\/p>\n<p>During this Masters event, <a href=\"https:\/\/valorantesports.com\/en-GB\/news\/new-map-reveal-showmatch-at-masters-london-grand-finals\">a new map reveal for Valorant will occur<\/a>. 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).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Valorant For some reason, Riot Games is creating a Valorant &#8216;pub&#8217; in east London hosted by a British takeaway guy who likes to yell &#8220;bosh!&#8221; Stella work. Image credit: Riot Games News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Additional contributions by Robert Purchese Published on June 18, 2026 8 comments Follow Valorant Ever watched [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1997612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1997612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1997612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1997612\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1997612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1997612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1997612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}