Riot Games has announced that new plans for Valorant esports, including three international leagues as the top level of competition for the 2023 season.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the changes coming to the Valorant esports circuit:
- Three new international leagues featuring 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 accessible to every player directly within the VALORANT client 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 that 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, setting up long-term partners for success.
Before these upcoming changes get implemented in Valorant esports for 2023, Riot Games also stated that it will operate a selective application process throughout 2022 for long-term partners. Organizations who meet the criteria will get financial support from Riot Games in the form an annual stipend, as well as opportunity to collaborate on in-game products.