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Earlier this year, Riot Games revealed its roadmap for the upcoming Valorant season, disclosing its plans to establish a franchise league system for the shooter in 2023. The new tournament layout will replace the existing VCT circuit and bring about a shift in the game's esports ecosystem.
Riot has already announced its plans to implement separate international league structures across Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Like League of Legends, these leagues will comprise limited franchise slots that organizations must purchase to compete.
Rushindra Sinha shares thoughts on 2023 Valorant international franchise leagues
While the title's developers are excited about moving in this direction, a few in the community have been skeptical about the project, with several tier-1 organizations confirming their exit from competitive Valorant.
Global Esports, one of South Asia's leading Valorant organizations, is currently the only Indian team left in the race for a slot in the 2023 franchise league in Asia. As of writing, they've entered the 3rd stage of selection for Valorant's international leagues.
While this doesn't guarantee them a spot, they are closer to their goal of claiming one.
Sportskeeda Esports reached out to Dr. Rushindra Sinha, the co-owner and CEO of Global Esports, for his thoughts on Riot's approach to the competitive scene in 2023.
Being signed under an NDA with Riot, Dr. Rushindra Sinha could not give any official statements about Global Esports' application status. However, he shared his thoughts on the situation:
"Riot knows what they're doing, unlike any other game publisher, because they already run the most watched esports league on earth (League of Legends - LCS). They have enough learnings and examples in front of them from other leagues like CDL and OWL (Call of Duty and Overwatch), so trust me when I say that Riot will find a way to make it work and not let their game suffer in any region. They will make it as inclusive as possible, ensuring everyone gets a shot."
He added:
"With regards to us getting a league slot; while we might be the best suitors in the SA region, our fight is against all the tier-1 teams from across the globe. So, it's not going to be easy, but then again, nothing ever is easy. This is why our official hashtag is #GEFighting because we always have to give it our all, fight for every iota of opportunity and earn it."
Dr. Rushindra Sinha elaborated on Global Esports' long-term ambitions, which they are gradually working towards achieving.
"Now, we've been in this industry for more than five years as Global Esports and almost 20+ years as competitive esports athletes, so we know what we're doing. We were here before the mobile gaming wave started and intend to stay here long after. Our end goal is to build the world's largest gaming company, which won't happen overnight, so we're dedicating the next 20-25 years of our life to continue this grind and this time #GEWinning."
Several top-tier organizations worldwide have reportedly marked their exit from competitive Valorant due to their applications being rejected.
The situation on most Indian and South Asian rosters is unclear. However, Velocity Gaming, one of India's leading rosters, has confirmed that they will be sticking around to see what Riot has in store for them in the future.
He also touched on South Asia's growing Valorant ecosystem:
"The next billion gamers in the world will come from SA, but very few PC games have been able to facilitate that transition. Esports is the fastest way to facilitate that. It can create local heroes, communities, and so much more."
"Imagine what it will cost to get a million people to start playing Valorant in any of the regions globally; juxtapose that to SA, and that costs shrink to a fraction. We will surely see strategic tie-ups and investments in this region to grow this ecosystem."
The developer is expected to provide more information regarding the international franchise league structure in the coming weeks.
