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Despite being just two years old, Valorant has managed to garner a healthy and growing competitive scene. Up until now, the competitive circuit has mostly been restricted to professional tournaments only, but a ranked game mode has always existed within the game itself.
However, a month ago, a popular Valorant data miner talked about a potential tournament mode on Twitter. Riot Games just announced the very same in-game tournament mode that is set to go live in Brazil soon. Here's a quick rundown of how this tournament mode is going to work.
What is the new Valorant "Premier" game mode?
This game mode in question will be undergoing its alpha test in Brazil. Dubbed "premier," this game mode is still in its alpha stages and has about 60% of the functions it's supposed to have. Interestingly enough, this isn't a global test launch either.
It will be launched on November 1 and will conclude on November 21. During this period, the developers will be looking to test the following features:
- Team creation (with team logos and colors)
- Server load
- Tournament play (including a map pick-and-ban system)
- Premier Score (and qualifying for the end-of-season tournament)
- Matchmaking and queue health throughout the Alpha
- General bugs
This is an interesting take on the competitive circuit and will allow players to fight for higher stakes once they've crossed the Radiant rank in Valorant. Although it's currently unclear if everyone will be able to participate in this mode or if it will be restricted to the Radiant ranked players, this take of Riot Games on the competitive aspect of things could change the entire circuit for good.
According to the developers, in this game mode, players will be able to build a team and then compete in a set of matches. These will be considered to be a part of a season that will typically last for a few weeks. Riot Games will probably be introducing some form of Skill Based Matchmaking for this mode as well.
Players will be able to form a team of five players prior to signing up for this mode. Once they've done so, they will be grouped against teams with a similar skill level for the matches in this in-game tournament mode.
The best teams will qualify for the end-of-season tournament and the team that wins that tournament will be known as the Division champion. Interestingly enough, in this game mode in Valorant, teams will be allowed to pick and ban maps, a feature that is seen during professional tournaments.
For now, there is no specific launch date for this tournament mode in Valorant. However, it can be assumed that this mode will go live before the VCT 2023 tournament season kicks off in February.
Given that the testing phase is scheduled to begin shortly, the developers will have ample time to test each and every feature out properly before the entire world is able to participate in the "Premier" mode of the game. If executed well, this could change the face of the competitive scene completely, and provide aspiring professional players an easier way into the professional scene.
The Valorant 2023 tournament season will see 30 teams battle it out for glory. They have been selected as partners by Riot Games and will compete in multiple tournaments throughout the year. Most of the teams have managed to announce their rosters already, and the ones that haven't will announce them shortly.
