May 25 2022

Valorant Changes Competition System!

Valorant has taken the eSports world by storm and has quickly become one of the most played games in the world. Despite their current competition system being a huge success, Riot Games has decided to completely alter its system for the 2023 season and going forward, don’t worry. You will still be able to bet on all of the biggest Valorant matches at GG Bet. This bookmaker is the leader in eSports betting.

What is Valorant?

Valorant is a free first-person shooter developed by Riot Games on June 2, 2020. The game is similar to Counter-Strike and has lots of similar features, including menus and shooting mechanics. Valorant is set in the not-too-distant future, and the characters are based in a number of different countries. You get to select from 19 different agents, the most popular are Sage (Chinese female) and Jett (South Korean female). It is a team-based game where players get assigned to the defending or attacking team. The teams are made up of 5 players, and in each game, you start with a pistol and can purchase alternate weapons and upgrades based on your performance. Valorant is only available on Windows and currently has 12 million monthly active players, and 22% are players from the US.

What is the Current Valorant Competition System?

Currently, Valorant has used an open circuit format. In the current format, 3rd party organizers set up qualifying tournaments, and then the winners play in official regional and then international Valorant tournaments. The current model has suffered from low engagement. The last international Valorant competition has a viewership of 1 million, which is low considering there are almost 20 million Valorant players. Riot Games has decided to completely reshape how tournaments take place and create its very own league in hopes of getting more eyes on its events.

What Will the New Valorant Competition System Be Like?

Valorant has decided to create an official league similar to the Overwatch or League of Legends’ North American league. This professional league will be fully controlled by Riot Games. However, instead of charging professional teams a fee to enter the league, Riot Games will select certain teams based on their brand and previous performance and pay them to partake. This stipend system is unique as in other leagues, teams have to pay for the honor of playing.

Riot Games has stated it wants to work closely with the selected teams. The professional teams will play a key role in improving the Valorant game and will produce content with Riot Games. However, the extent of this collaboration has not yet been revealed. Also, the selection criteria for getting into the league is also a bit murky as Riot Games states they will pick teams with “a track record of building great esports experiences, developing players, and meaningfully contributing to the long-term growth of Valorant esports.”

There Will Be Weekly LAN Matches

The pro teams will compete in weekly international matches. There will be 3 international leagues, and the leagues will be grouped based on the following geographical locations:

  • North America, Latin America, and Brazil
  • Europe, Russia, Turkey, and MENA
  • Southeast Asia, Korea, Oceania

These international regions will be grouped together and play infrequent league matches. There will be a Masters and Champions, which will attract the very best Valorant gamers. They will battle it out in front of live audiences, and it is expected there will be a live audience. These international Valorant tournaments will be incredibly exciting and should inspire even more players to try out the addictive first-person shooter.

Regional Tournaments Will Still Take Place

Valorant will still have national and regional competitions. These competitions will run similarly to the Valorant leagues that have been taking place throughout Europe. In these new tournaments, players can create their custom teams and battle them out in a variety of local comps. Competitions run by 3rd party organizers will still exist, but their popularity will shrink as they will no longer offer a clear path to pro.

Even though Valorant has quickly become one of the most popular games in the world, with 16 million players from around the globe, Riot Games has decided to shake up its tournament and competition format. They are hoping to boost engagement and inspire even more players to try it out. Valorant will set up a new regional and international league and cut out 3rd party organizers. Valorant will select teams to compete and pay them a salary. These new tournaments will start taking place in 2023 and will conclude with a world championship. These new exciting tournaments will run throughout the year!


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Author

Elle Gellrich