VCT 2023 - Format, Partnerships, Regions, More

Riot Games has finally revealed what Valorant esports would be like in the next five years for both tier 1 and tier 2 teams. Valorant Challengers will play a massive role in expanding the regional circuit, leading to new international leagues and, eventually, global events.

Since the partnership program was announced, all the organizations and fans have been eagerly waiting for these details to arrive. You can have a look at everything announced below.

VCT 2023 - New and Expanded Challengers League

In 2023, there will be over 20 Challengers Leagues across the world, and players will be able to participate in their open qualifiers and dig their way up to two splits of multi-week regular season play. In addition to this, the devs are working to create an in-game competitive system, and starting from 2024, emerging from this system will qualify directly for Challengers

The final stage will be the playoffs, and the winning team will be crowned the league’s champion. Challengers Leagues will be broadcasted without any clash with the international leagues to give players and teams enough attention and exposure.

Here is the list of all the regions in which Challengers Leagues will be happening:

Americas

• NA
• LATAM North
• Brazil
• LATAM South

EMEA

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

Pacific

• South Asia (Includes India)
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Malaysia and Singapore
• Korea
• Japan
• Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong
• Philippines
• Indonesia
• Oceania

The final list of EMEA regions might change in the future.

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New Challengers Ascension League

The top teams from the Challengers Leagues will participate in a new league called Challengers Ascension, and there will be three of them, i.e., Americas, Pacific, and EMEA. From there, the winning team from each territory will qualify for the international league.

Promotion into International Leagues

The three winners of Challengers Ascension League will be promoted to the International Leagues of their respective territories for two years, where they will compete alongside the partnered teams and will have an equal chance to qualify for Masters and Champions. 

After two years, the three promoted teams will return to the league to start over and make their way to the International League again. Each year, the number of teams in the International League will increase by one till 2025, and starting from 2026, two teams from each Challengers Ascension League will be promoted to the International Leagues until hitting a cap of 14 teams in 2027.

This means that in 2023, only the 10 partnered teams will play in International Leagues, and the tier 2 teams will be battling for their spot in 2024. However, the names of partnered teams have not been announced yet.

Riot will release more information regarding each region’s open qualifiers, Challenger schedule, and the Ascension tournaments later this fall.

For more on the game, check out our section dedicated to Valorant guides, news, updates, tips, and more.

Featured image via Riot Games.