Riot announces Valorant esports plans for 2023

Riot Games continues to expand the Valorant esports, and they have announced some ground-breaking details about the year 2023 introducing a brand new competitive model that will give better chances to new talent and will also focus on long-term partnerships with a selected number of teams. 

In addition to this, they will also organize three international leagues, and different domestic leagues, along with a brand new competitive in-game mode. Here are the complete details about the announcement.

Valorant Esports 2023 plans

First of all, as mentioned above, Riot will establish three new international tournaments in which the world's best teams from the Americas, EMEA, and Asia will compete against each other week-over-week. These will be LAN tournaments, and the audience will be allowed in them (health and safety conditions permitting).

Throughout the year, the top teams from each league will qualify for two international Masters events and Valorant Champions to ultimately compete for the Valorant World Champion title. 

In addition to this, a brand new in-game competitive mode will also be released that will be accessible for all the players from within the Valorant client. It will be designed to identify the best talent globally and will be integrated into the esports ecosystem.

Apart from this, new domestic leagues will also be launched that will give opportunities to new talent, and the top team from in-game competitive mode will get a chance to compete against the best talent from their region within their respective domestic leagues. 

“With VALORANT, we want to build today’s most thrilling esport alongside the most well-managed, ambitious, and exciting teams in the industry. We have designed our long-term partnership model for VALORANT so teams can thrive and build their business alongside the overall growth of VALORANT Esports,” said Whalen Rozelle, Head of Esports Operations at Riot Games.

“We are setting up our long-term partners for success by forgoing any entry or participation fees for selected organizations. Our aim is to free our partners to invest their resources in supporting their pros and growing their fanbases through creating incredible content for fans.” 

Starting from 2023, Riot will break new ground in the esports competitive space by forgoing any entry or participation fees for selected organizations and setting up long-term partners for success.

These partners will be identified using a selective application process, and the shortlisted teams will get financial support from Riot Games in the form of an annual stipend and the exclusive opportunity to collaborate on unique in-game activations and products.

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This model was first introduced in League of Legends esports, and starting from 2023, it will be implemented in Valorant esports as well. 

“Together, all these elements will contribute to a competitive ecosystem that will position VALORANT for its next stage of growth,” said John Needham, President of Esports at Riot Games.

“We want to build the top level of competition that will provide more exciting matches, new events that will thrill live audiences, and engaging experiences for millions of online fans. We’ll use everything we learned from the past 10 years with LoL Esports to build an ecosystem that will supercharge VALORANT into the next great multigenerational esport.”

For more on the game, please make sure to check our section dedicated to Valorant guides, news, tips, and more.

Featured image via Riot Games.