Here’s what’s up with VALORANT Challengers 2023

With this year’s conclusion of the current circuit looming, Riot Games announced a new competitive format for next year’s VALORANT Challengers Tour (VCT).

A Total of 21 Challenger Leagues

Via Riot Games

The new VCT format aims to grow (and cover) more players and teams in more regions by integrating them into an even more fully connected ecosystem, with more significant events, new tournaments, and the same high stakes seen in competitive VALORANT.

Starting next year, VCT will be encompassing 21 leagues around the world in each of the major territories (Americas, EMEA, and the Pacific). The new Challenger Leagues will start with open qualifiers and the best teams will be put into two splits of multi-week regular season play. Similar to what’s currently implemented, each split will culminate in a playoff tournament where the winning team will be crowned as that league’s champion.

Via Riot Games

Here are the following territories with each of their respective domestic leagues:

AMERICAS

• North America
• LATAM (North)
• LATAM (SOUTH)
• Brazil

EMEA

• Northern Europe
• Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, & Portugal)
• France & Benelux
• DACH (Germany, Austria, & Switzerland)
• Turkey
• Eastern Europe
• MENA

PACIFIC

• South Asia (including India)
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Malaysia & Singapore
• Korea
• Japan
• Taiwan & Hong Kong
• Philippines
• Indonesia
• Oceania

The biggest Challenger leagues will also receive dedicated broadcast windows to ensure they won’t be in conflict with future international league matches. 

Challengers Ascension

Via Riot Games

2023 will also mark the start of the Challengers Ascencion series where teams who secure victory at the three Challengers Ascension tournaments will earn a spot in the following year’s international league.

Teams who win Challengers Ascensions will be earning a two-year promotion into their territory’s international league, and international leagues will expand by one team each year until they cap at 14 total teams by 2027.

During their promotion, teams will be proving themselves against other international league teams during the season, receive similar league benefits, and have an equal chance to qualify for Masters and Champions tournaments. After 2 years, the promoted teams shall return to each of their respective leagues and must claw their way back through the Challengers and Ascension tournaments.

Via Riot Games

There’s still a lot of information yet to be revealed about next year’s new VCT format for teams to have a clear roadmap of their competitive VALORANT journey, and it will all be revealed in the upcoming months. For now, we all have to wait and see for more updates and look forward to this season’s culmination at Champions 2022.

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