The VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) is the pinnacle of the VALORANT competition scene. Riot Games unveiled its main competition circuit at the end of 2020, and within a few months had already organized its first championships.
Today, the series is a direct counterpart to the ecosystem built in another discipline from Riot Games, League of Legends. However, while the popular MOBA features a franchise system with a closed membership, in VALORANT the developers managed to build a unique affiliate program that is open to teams from lower levels.
But we are also interested in the history of the VALORANT Champions Tour, what it has been through and where it is today.
How the VALORANT Champions Tour series came about
Initially the VCT Series consisted of a number of regional events taking place not only in integrated regions, but also in individual countries. For example, this division was typical of South East Asia and Asia as a whole, with events in Singapore, Japan, South Korea and many other sub-regions.
However, further on, organizers began to merge the format to build a unified ecosystem where the strongest representatives from their countries could get an opportunity to play against the best teams from other regions. This is how the Masters tournaments were formed, which in their first iteration were already an unprecedented success.
Later on, Masters tournaments began to unite several countries into one ecosystem, to end up with the first LAN tournament in VALORANT's history, the Masters in Reykjavik.
During the first full season, the organizers struggled to find a single format that would fit all regions at the same time. At the same time, Riot Games continued to support and increase their efforts in securing LAN tournaments. Particularly, at the end of 2021 they organized the Berlin Masters, and the season ended in the same location, but already under the aegis of the VALORANT Champions.
In this way, the organisers have created a unique circuit format for the first season, which will continue to be adapted to the VALORANT realities of the future. However, the overall essence remains unchanged, as the series will be the main development element of the whole discipline.
Second full season of the VALORANT Champions Tour
In the second year of the VCT series, the organisers attempted to significantly reduce the number of championships, in order to increase the priority given to each individual event. As a result, they were able to focus on the development of each individual region and to combine several countries into a single cluster.
In this way, the overall structure of the VALORANT Champions Tour became more and more like the splits/seasons introduced in League of Legends. After each split, LAN Masters tournaments were held and throughout the season, teams earned ranking points to advance directly to the VALORANT Champions.
The season consisted of two splits, followed by Last Chance Qualifier events. It all culminated with the glamorous VALORANT Champions 2022 in Istanbul, during which further changes to the series were unveiled.
Revamped VCT system - a step towards League of Legends
At the beginning of 2023, the new VALORANT Champions Tour system has been officially launched. The ecosystem had become more and more similar to the regional League of Legends franchises, with the difference that in VALORANT, the "partners" didn't pay entrance fees and were chosen by the tournament organizers according to strict criteria.
As a result, Riot Games managed to create three regions, each of which absorbed several subregional leagues:
- Europe (CIS + Western Europe).
- America (North America, Brazil + Latin America).
- Asia (Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea + Oceania).
Looking ahead, the Chinese league is not far off and should function in parallel with the three partner divisions. As VALORANT prepares to officially enter China and local teams are increasingly invited to LAN tournaments, the organisers will increase the representation in the VCT series starting next season.
With the season now in transition, Riot Games has decided to kick off the new story with their biggest tournament yet, the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo. With thirty partner teams and two teams from China, the organisers showcased the capabilities of the revamped ecosystem to the public.
However, the season will consist of only one split, to be played between March and May across all three partner leagues. Immediately afterwards, in the summer, a Masters will be organized in Tokyo and the season will end with another VALORANT Champions in Los Angeles.
European League participants (venue Berlin, Messe Berlin Charlottenburg):
- Team Vitality, Karmine Corp, FUT Esports, BBL Esports, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Team Liquid, KOI, Team Heretics and Giants Gaming.
American League participants (venue Los Angeles, Riot Games Arena):
- Sentinels, 100 Thieves, Cloud9, NRG Esports, Evil Geniuses, FURIA, LOUD, MIBR, Leviatán Esports and KRÜ Esports.
Asian League participants (Seoul, Sangam Colosseum and Jangchung Arena venues):
- ZETA DIVISION, T1, Gen.G Esports, DRX, DetonatioN Gaming, Team Secret, Rex Regum Qeon, Paper Rex, Talon Esports and Global Esports.
Parallel to the VCT series, events in the regional Challengers leagues will unfold. At the end of the season, there will be three Ascension tournaments, the winners of which will receive a slot in their region's affiliate program for two years.
Thus, by 2028 the VALORANT Champions Tour series will have 42 teams, and this number may increase with the advent of the Chinese league. However, it can already be said that Riot Games has managed to build a unique ecosystem that will continue to drive the discipline forward.
