2021’s VALORANT Champions Tour has just concluded with Acend’s triumph in Berlin, but Riot is already announcing their plans for next year’s VALORANT scene.
The VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 will see the introduction of Regional Leagues and Regional Circuits to subdivide the Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMEA) region further. The new system will see three separate layers of competition starting form the amateur circuits to the regional leagues all the way to Challengers and eventually the global Masters and Champions tournaments.
Four invites and eight qualifiers for Challengers Stage 1
The top four EMEA teams Acend, Gambit, Fnatic and Team Liquid will be invited to the first stage, while the remaining eight spots will be filled by regional qualifiers for EU, Turkey and CIS. Teams from the Middle East & North Africa region are eligible to play in either of the 3 regions.
Stage 2 will see a promotion tournament between the winners of the new regional leagues against the bottom two teams from Stage 1. More information on the format will be shared at a later date.
Also read: What we can expect from VALORANT Champions Tour in 2022
VALORANT Regional Leagues
The VALORANT Regional Leagues will form a new tier just below Challengers for talent development within regional framework. 2022 will see the introduction of eight regional leagues:
- Spain, Portugal & Italy
- France & Benelux
- United Kingdom, Ireland & Nordics
- Poland, Eastern Europe & Israel
- Community of Independant States (CIS)
- Middle East & North Africa
- Turkey
- Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH)
These leagues will run two stages throughout the year and eventually crown a champion through a regular season and playoffs. Open qualifiers will be available for the Regional Leagues. At the conclusion of Stage 1 the winner of each league will participate in the Challengers Promotion tournament with a qualification to Challengers on the line. The second stage will see the champions advance to the VRL EMEA finals.
Qualifiers for the first season will begin on January 24, the first split is scheduled for February 14.
VALORANT Regional Circuits
Regional Circuits will be the grassroots level of competition in VALORANT in EMEA. Explicitly for amateurs the circuits will give local players the chance to experience organised competition. Participants will gather points for their respective teams throughout the season, with the highest ranked teams facing off at the end to determine circuit champions.
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More details on the circuits will follow at a later date.
3 Game Changers events to come in EMEA
The Game Changers initiative will continue in 2022 with three more events scheduled for the upcoming year. The first will be in January, while the following ones will take palce in May and September. The best teams from those events will qualify for the Global Game Changers event set in November, which will determine the best female teams worldwide.
Also read: Cloud9 White sparks inspiration for other women in esports
To further support women in VALORANT, Riot will also launch the Game Changers EMEA Academy with up to six tournaments throughout the year. The academy is to offer a tier below Game Changers for new teams and fresh starters to try their hand at organized competition.
More details regarding the format will be released at a later date by Riot.
Read more:
- No in-game Champions skins for VCT Champions winner, says Riot
- Riot is buffing Yoru – This is what they’re changing
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