Riot Games announced the new path of the VALORANT Champions Tour taking place between 2023 and 2028, and a new kick-off tournament. This tournament will be held in São Paulo, Brazil with all the 30 partnered teams around the world. The grandest competition of the VALORANT esports will start in February.
While the partnered teams are still not clear, we have learned a lot about what 2023 has for us. Schedules are disclosed, the league system is announced and we are only waiting for the teams in Americas, EMEA and Pacific to be announced now. Let’s take a look at what Riot Games prepared for us.
VCT 2023 looks exciting
Champions 2022 is coming to an end in Istanbul while Riot Games announces more and more about what awaits us in 2023. A start with all thirty teams in São Paulo sounds great, and we will have a better competitive environment than 2022 for sure.
The new VALORANT esports will be divided into three main regions: Americas, EMEA and Pacific. Ten partnered teams will be included in each region. EMEA will take place in Berlin, Americas will take place in Los Angeles and Pacific will take place in Seoul.
Between 2023 and 2026, one team each year will join those partnered teams for two years. After 2026, two teams will join each year.
How will those teams that join the partnered ones will be decided? You have to understand the new VALORANT esports ecosystem first. It will have four layers: global events, international leagues that will replace the current regional leagues, Challengers tournaments which will be held regionally and an in-game competitive system that will be connected to the main competitions directly.
After getting to the top in the in-game competitions, you will participate in Challengers. Challengers will be held regionally, for instance, in Turkey, Brazil, Japan, Benelux etc. After playing a year of Challengers, the champions will move on to the Ascension tournament which will replace the current Challengers and VRL Finals tournaments. The winner of each Ascension in three regions will qualify for the main event.
Thus, the league where partnered teams compete will get more crowded each year until 2027. In the end, there will be 14 teams in each international league. Those teams will qualify for the global events; Kick-off tournaments, Masters and eventually, Champions.
The first tournament to be announced in 2023 is the kick-off competition in São Paulo, Brazil. Ten partnered teams from each region, Americas, Pacific and EMEA will be gathered in Brazil to participate in the biggest VALORANT tournament ever. Riot Games will showcase all of its new partners in one tournament before the 2023 season starts.
Schedules in 2023
There will be open qualifiers for Challengers tournament, and they will start in January 2023. We will know which teams are accepted in the partners program long before that. The first part of Challengers will take place between January and March, the second part between March and May, and Ascension will be held in July. From that point on, the offseason starts.
The kick-off tournament in Brazil will start on February 14 and will end on March 5. International leagues will take place between March 26 and May 28, and Masters 2023 will be held in June. Last Chance Qualifiers will be played in July, and Champions 2023 will be held in August.
While the dates are still not finalized, these are the disclosed ones from Riot Games. In 2024, there will be two parts of international leagues instead of one like in 2023. In the offseason after Champions, there will be third-party VALORANT tournaments held around the world, where all teams will have the chance to get ready for the next season. There will be more detailed announcements in the future considering in-game competitions, which will probably replace open qualifiers.
You can find more about VCT 2023 and the currently ongoing Champions 2022 on Luckbox with latest news and live streams. Make sure to sign up now to grab your 100% bonus before moving on to placing your bets.
