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Stage 1 of the Valorant Champions Tour 2022 is around the corner as teams worldwide prepare to face their regional opposition at the Challengers event. The EMEA Challengers 1 is scheduled to begin on February 11, featuring 12 of the best teams from Europe.
Stage 1 Challengers is the first step for teams to qualify for the coveted VCT Masters event. Valorant enthusiasts will have five consecutive weeks of exciting matchups to keep themselves engrossed.
Further details on the EMEA Stage 1 Challengers are mentioned below.
Valorant Champions Tour 2022 EMEA Challengers: Everything you need to know
Teams and Format
A total of 12 teams have qualified for VCT Stage 1 EMEA Challengers based on recent performance. Four teams, namely - Acend, Gambit Esports, Team Liquid and Fnatic, earned direct qualification for the tournament due to their achievements in VCT 2021.
Guild Esports and BIG qualified from EU Challengers 1, whereas SuperMassive Blaze and FunPlus Phoenix are representatives from Challengers 1 of Turkey and the CIS region, respectively.
Similarly, G2 Esports and LDN UTD qualified from EU Challengers 2, whereas BBL Esports qualified from Turkey Challengers 2 and Natus Vincere from CIS Challengers 2.
The tournament's Group Stage will be conducted in a round-robin format, with each matchup decided over a best-of-three series. The top 3 teams from each group will then qualify for the Playoffs. The 12 participating teams are grouped as such:
Group A
- Gambit Esports
- Team Liquid
- BIG
- FunPlus Phoenix
- LDN UTD
- Natus Vincere
Group B
- Acend
- Fnatic
- Guild Esports
- SuperMassive Blaze
- G2 Esports
- BBL Esports
All six qualifying teams will then engage in a double-elimination bracket to secure the three slots for the Stage 1 Masters. Winners of each group will receive a first-round bye victory.
Bottom teams from both groups will participate in the VCT Promotion event, where they will compete against winners of all the Valorant Regional League tournaments across Europe for a ticket to Stage 2 EMEA Challengers.
Schedule
All fixtures for EMEA Stage 1 Challengers will be held from Friday to Sunday, with matches scheduled for 5 PM CEST/8:30 PM IST/7 AM PST and 8 PM CEST/11:30 PM IST/10 AM PST.
Week 1
February 11
- Team Liquid vs. Gambit Esports
- G2 Esports vs. Fnatic
February 12
- FunPlus Phoenix vs. BIG
- SuperMassive Blaze vs. Acend
February 13
- Natus Vincere vs. LDN UTD
- BBL Esports vs. Guild Esports
Week 2
February 18
- FunPlus Phoenix vs. Gambit Esports
- Guild Esports vs. Acend
February 19
- LDN UTD vs. BIG
- BBL Esports vs. Fnatic
February 20
- G2 Esports vs. SuperMassive Blaze
- Natus Vincere vs. Team Liquid
Week 3
February 25
- Guild Esports vs. SuperMassive Blaze
- Acend vs. Fnatic
February 26
- LDN UTD vs. FunPlus Phoenix
- G2 Esports vs. BBL Esports
February 27
- Natus Vincere vs. Gambit Esports
- BIG vs. Team Liquid
Week 4
March 4
- BBL Esports vs. SuperMassive Blaze
- LDN UTD vs. Team Liquid
March 5
- Natus Vincere vs. FunPlus Phoenix
- G2 Esports vs. Acend
March 6
- BIG vs. Gambit Esports
- Guild Esports vs. Fnatic
Week 5
March 11
- LDN UTD vs. Gambit Esports
- G2 Esports vs. Guild Esports
March 12
- FunPlus Phoenix vs. Team Liquid
- BBL Esports vs. Acend
March 13
- Natus Vincere vs. BIG
- SuperMassive Blaze vs. Fnatic
Playoffs for EMEA Stage 1 Challengers are scheduled for March 22 - 28.
Where to watch VCT EMEA Challengers?
Viewers can tune into Valorant's official handles across Twitch and YouTube to watch the tournament in live-action. Watch parties held in association with Riot Games are also expected to broadcast the event.
Top matchups
Stage 1 of VCT EMEA Challengers kicks off with promising matchups as Esports powerhouses - Team Liquid and Gambit Esports face-off in the opening match. They will be followed by another enticing fixture soon after, as G2 takes on Fnatic on the same day.
Acend and Fnatic will face each other in a Week 3 fixture that Valorant enthusiasts can also look forward to. G2 will prepare their revamped roster to take on the 2021 Valorant Champions-Acend in their Week 4 matchup.
Most of the participating teams have been away from VCT action for a considerable amount of time and aim to compete in the most significant Esports stages in 2022. In that regard, each matchup is expected to bring out the best performance from the top 12 teams in Valorant's EMEA region.
