Riot Games has just announced its plans for the future of VALORANT esports. It will establish three new international leagues as the top level of competition for the 2023 season.
This ensures long-term partnerships with no entry fees for a select number of teams to maintain long-term stability for the game
In support of this initiative, Riot games will launch the following features and events:
- Three new international leagues will feature a week-over-week competition between the world’s best teams. The three international leagues, respectively composed of teams from the Americas, Europe, and Asia, will see the best players compete against each other in LAN settings and in front of live audiences (health and safety conditions permitting). Throughout the year, the best teams from each league will qualify for two international Masters events and VALORANT Champions, where a single team will be crowned the VALORANT World Champion.
- A new competitive in-game mode that is accessible to every player directly within the VALORANT client is designed to identify the best talent worldwide. This mode will act as a supplement to the existing leaderboards, providing players with a new goal above ranked play that integrates into the esports ecosystem.
- The launch of new domestic leagues will expand opportunities for up-and-coming talent who aspire to reach elite international leagues. Top teams from the in-game competitive mode will have the opportunity to compete against the best talent from their region within their respective domestic leagues.
- Riot Games will break new ground in the esports competitive space by forgoing any entry or participation fees for selected organizations and setting up long-term partners for success.
“With VALORANT, we want to build today’s most thrilling esport alongside the most well-managed, ambitious, and exciting teams in the industry. We have designed our long-term partnership model for VALORANT so teams can thrive and build their business alongside the overall growth of VALORANT Esports. We are setting up our long-term partners for success by forgoing any entry or participation fees for selected organizations. Our aim is to free our partners to invest their resources in supporting their pros and growing their fanbases through creating incredible content for fans.”
Whalen Rozelle, Head of Esports Operations at Riot Games
Throughout 2022, Riot Games will be assessing who will become its long-term partners. The teams that meet the selection criteria will be provided with financial support by the company through annual stipends and exclusive opportunities to collaborate on unique in-game activations and products.
Additionally, these teams will also be able to distribute esports branded content which allows VALORANT players to express their esports fandom both during watching and playing.
“Together, all these elements will contribute to a competitive ecosystem that will position VALORANT for its next stage of growth. We want to build the top level of competition that will provide more exciting matches, new events that will thrill live audiences, and engaging experiences for millions of online fans. We’ll use everything we learned from the past 10 years with LoL Esports to build an ecosystem that will supercharge VALORANT into the next great multigenerational esport.”
John Needham, President of Esports at Riot Games
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