Riot announce 2021 Valorant Champions Tour

Riot has unveiled the latest evolution in Valorant esports with the Valorant Champions Tour 2021 offering teams across the globe a chance to compete in a three-tier competitive structure.

Find out what's in store for esports in 2021 with the introduction of the VALORANT Champions Tour. @RiotMagus shares the details of the new competitive global structure. pic.twitter.com/m1Gd7HjRsk

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) November 24, 2020

The competition will be split into:

• Valorant Challengers - three tournaments over six weeks, with top-performing teams qualifying for Masters.
• Valorant Masters - Three events a year where a region's top teams compete.
• Valorant Champions - A two-week end-of-year event where 16 teams will compete to be crowned Valorant's global Champion.

(Picture: Riot Games)

Seven regions will be represented in the competition including:

• North America (includes Oceania),
• Europe, Middle East, and Africa (includes CIS, Turkey, and MENA)
• Brazil
• Latin America
• Japan
• South-East Asia
• Korea

Bigger regions will be given more spots Valorant Champions event with North America and EMEA the most represented with four slots each.

Riot also revealed the concerns and needs of Valorant's esport calendar, believing that creating a system was that "easy to follow" was key.

They also wanted to ensure that "open, merit-based qualifiers" adhered to and steps were made to avoid "burnout". Both issue that plague rival tactical shooter Counter-Strike's esport eco-system.

• Read more: Guild Esports disqualified from Valorant First Strike after using boost against G2

The competition is set to begin in February 2021, with Valorant Challengers. Each round of Challengers will be followed by the Masters (Majors). There will be a break after each Masters for teams to recuperate. 

(Picture: Riot Games)

In October, four Champions Last Chance qualifiers will be held, giving one team one last chance of qualifying into the main event.

The season will conclude with Champions. A massive two-week-long event which will feature the best 16 teams from around the globe.

Riot's announcement is sure to get the juices pumping of any esport fan and again shows their ambition to make Valorant one of the most celebrated esports in the world. 

Esport organisations have been hugely supportive of the game with top tier organisations such as Cloud9, TSM and T1 all fielding teams.

Players as well have also spotted opportunity with former CS:GO professionals, in particular those from North America, feeling that Valorant is the place to be.

• Read more: "Coach" Myth gets salty after TSM's surprising elimination from Valorant tournament

Valve may well be feeling the pressure with today's announcement.