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Valorant esports just keeps expanding, with Riot Games taking the initiative.
The first set of competitive Valorant events were grass roots tournaments that saw the rise of several prominent organizations. Since the success of the ability-based first-person shooter, Riot Games has decided to take things up a notch.
First Strike is happening soon with qualifiers finishing around the world. After that, Riot Games is shifting gears into a total global takeover of esports. The Valorant Champions Tour will take place in 2021, and it is likely to set the precedent for esports events to come.
Riot Games announces Valorant Champions Tour
Riot Games has laid out an entire road map for their 2021 Valorant competitive cycle. There will be four total stages of events, that will culminate in a 16 team, globally represented, Valorant Champions tournament.
Each stage will have two levels, barring the final stage, which is the Champions event. Valorant teams will participate in Challenger events, with a chance to qualify for Masters events. Those Masters events then grant points towards qualifying for the Champions tournament.
Three sets of Challengers and Masters events will take place in spring, summer, and autumn. Competition will be similar to Valorant's First Strike, where each region will be given a chance for their best teams to qualify.
Qualifying for Valorant Champions
How to exactly qualify for the Valorant Champions event has been laid out. 12 teams of the 16 total will qualify from their performance in the Masters events throughout the year. 11 of those 12 will be placed via total circuit points. The 12th team is in by winning the 3rd Masters event.
The remaining 4 out of the 16 teams will make it into Champions through a Last Chance Qualifier. That LCQ will surely be exciting to see, if any high profile teams happen to be fighting for a spot at the very last moment.
Riot Games knows that esports competition is being affected by COVID-19. The hope is that the global pandemic is under control by December of 2021. That is when the Valorant Champions event is scheduled to take place. It very well may end up as the first international competition ever for Valorant.
