For many of us, competitive gaming is little more than a slot machine tournament at the top online casino Vietnam has to offer. For many others, in turn, competitive gaming is a phenomenon on par with professional sports, something to follow across the year. Esports has become the fastest-growing spectator sport, one for the 21st century, with hundreds of millions of followers all over the globe.
One of the biggest names in eSports today is Riot Games, the company behind some of the best-known eSports titles – League of Legends and Valorant. The company is also behind its titles’ official tournaments – Valorant Champions and League of Legends World Championship. Now, the company has announced its plans for the 2022 edition of the Valorant Champions Tour.
Shorter season to end in September
The basic format of the Valorant Champions Tour remains unchanged in 2022 but there will still be some changes – it will be condensed, with events kicking off in February and Valorant Champions held in September instead of December.
The series will begin in February with Challengers that will cover most of February and March, followed by a Valorant Masters in April. May and June will continue with another round of Valorant Challengers, followed by another Masters session. Finally, the Valorant Champions will be held in September.
Valorant players will compete in open qualifiers, then move on to a league-style tournament that will culminate in the Challengers Finals. The successful ones will then earn their spot in the Masters. All this will be followed by the Last Chance Qualifier that will be held in August ahead of the Valorant Champions in September.
Off-season won’t be off
But the Valorant season won’t suddenly stop in September. Riot has announced that it plans to offer more support for third-party event organizers to give established teams the possibility to continue competing, revamping their rosters and perhaps keep the prize money flowing while the official championship is off.
National leagues in Europe
Similar to League of Legends, Valorant will have national leagues starting 2022 – initially in Europe, then spreading to the rest of the world as well. The first Valorant national leagues are expected to be established in Spain, the UK, France, Nordic countries Germany, and possibly Turkey.
These leagues will be operated through local partners, such as Promod Esports in the UK, Ireland and Nordic countries or FRENZY in Poland and Israel. Each of them will offer two stages – a regular season and playoffs – where a champion will be crowned. The winner of each league goes on to the Valorant Champions Tourn (VCT) Promotion Tournament.
The goal of these leagues is to “develop and promote grassroots VALORANT talent across the region”, Riot Games said.
