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Following major speculation and anticipation, Riot Games has officially unveiled the 30 franchise teams for VCT 2023 across the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific regions. Throughout the first half of next year, these teams will compete against each other at multiple Regional Challengers to make their way to the Masters and, eventually, Champions 2023.
Valorant has grown to be one of the most-played competitive titles across the world in the last two years, while Riot Games has continuously nurtured its esports ecosystem to grow across various regions. For the upcoming 2023 Valorant Champions Tour, Riot Games is bringing major changes to the format, including a whole new franchise system.
All 30 franchise teams selected for VCT 2023
VCT 2023 is subdivided into three regions, the Americas consisting of North America, Brazil, and Latin America, EMEA representing Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and Pacific consisting of the Asia Pacific region.
Each region features 10 franchise teams who will compete across the Challenger stages to represent their region at the Masters and Champions events. Let's take a look at the 30 teams and the regions they are representing.
North America, Brazil, and Latin America franchise teams
The Americas brings together the regions of North America, Brazil, and Latin America. Based out of Los Angeles, this list consists of multiple tier 1 teams such as Sentinels, Evil Geniuses, 100 Thieves, Cloud9, and the recent VCT 2022 Champions, LOUD.
Following eight weeks of regular season play and playoffs, one team will be crowned the Americas Champion. With that being said, the complete list of teams from this region is as follows:
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9
- Evil Geniuses
- Furia
- KRU Esports
- Leviatan
- LOUD
- MIBR
- NRG
- Sentinels
Europe, Middle East, and Africa franchise teams
Based in Berlin, the EMEA region, which consists of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, has been one of the most consistent performers across the majority of esports tournaments. While their selection includes heavy hitters such as Fnatic, NAVI, and Team Liquid, it does not include Acend, the VCT 2021 Champions, after their disappointing performance in VCT 2022.
Similar to other regions, EMEA franchise teams will also face each other across eight weeks of regular season play and playoffs, after which one team will be crowned the EMEA Champion. The EMEA franchise teams are as follows:
- BBL Esports
- Fnatic
- FUT Esports
- Giants
- Karmine Corp
- KOI
- NAVI
- Team Heretics
- Team Liquid
- Team Vitality
Oceania, South Asia, South-East Asia, Korea, and Japan franchise teams
The Pacific Region, based out of Seoul, combines the South-East Asia, South Asia, Korea, and Japan regions with Oceania. While esports often defies predictability, this region is perhaps the most unpredictable amongst the three. Teams like Paper Rex, Gen.G, Global Esports, T1, and Team Secret certainly have the capability to surprise fans, and it is unclear as to who might emerge as the best team in the region.
The Pacific region is sure to witness some nail-biting tough competition across eight weeks, leading to one team being crowned the Pacific Champion. The teams representing the region are as follows:
- Detonation Gaming
- DRX
- Gen.G
- Global Esports
- Paper Rex
- Rex Regum Qeon
- T1
- Talon Esports
- Team Secret
- Zeta Division
The 30 franchised teams will battle it out for the first time at the upcoming Kickoff Tournament at São Paulo, which will officially mark the beginning of the VCT 2023 season.
