VALORANT's esports scene is still growing, and following the ongoing First Strike tournament, Riot Games has just unveiled a new competitive circuit: the Champions Tour.
Beginning early 2021, this season-long competition will feature several regions globally — North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
The Valorant Champions Tour will feature three levels of competition: Challengers, Masters, and Champions. Teams will have three steps to go through before they can aspire to the overall title:
- Regional Challenger events: Teams play to advance to three international Masters events.
- International Masters events: Teams accumulate points in order to qualify for the Champions event.
- Champions event: Slated for the end of the year, the world’s top sixteen teams will compete to be crowned global champion.
To help organize this competition, Riot Games is calling on two founding partners: Red Bull and Secretlab, two endemic brands who are also supporting the First Strike tournament. More partners for the Champions Tour will be announced throughout 2021.
The purpose of the publisher is clear. "The Champions Tour is our next step to grow VALORANT into a global esport worthy of the passion of our fans", says Whalen Rozelle, Senior Director of Esports at Riot Games.
The arrival of a regular competition will define once and for all the game's competitive scene, and could represent a real achievement for Riot Games in the esports ecosystem.
This international tournament will crown a single global champion at the end of the year. This is the first season, and every year the defending champions will put their title back on the line — giving fans enough competition to be satisfied for a long time to come!
For the release of the brand-new Ion skin range in Valorant, we sat down with Producer Preeti Khanolkar and Art Lead Sean Marino to discuss their daily life and their responsibilities. Discover these new skins, as well as the process behind their creation, in this exclusive interview!
