Riot Games reveal 2023 esports system

Riot Games have announced the new esports model for the year of 2023. According to the announcement, the major teams are going to compete in a stipend system, regional leagues are going to be expanded and Game Changers will have its own championship.

New In-Game Tournament Mode (Path to Pro)

This is one of the biggest changes for the VALORANT enthusiasts who want to go professional. In this new mode, the top-ranked teams will be given the chance to qualify into their respective domestic leagues. The regular matchmaking system will remain for everyone but the new mode will be for those who want to challenge the domestic professional players. This will also offer players even further goals who have reached Radiant in game. They will also be scouted better by the esports organizations.

International Leagues

“Teams from North America, Latin America, and Brazil will make up a league; Teams from Europe, Russian, Turkey, and MENA will make up a league; and teams from Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, South Asia and Oceania will make up a league”. These leagues will be played on LAN with audiences as long as the world doesn’t face any more health issues. The best teams of these tournaments will represent their regions at VALORANT Champions and VALORANT Masters.

Domestic Leagues

Until today, there were many regional leagues across Europe and many teams that failed to qualify for VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event, had chances to prove their worth and investment to challenge against the best teams in the region. Now, the devotion will be spread all around the globe with more regional leagues, of course linked with the new in-game tournament mode. This will create an opportunity to show every player their skills against their domestic opponents. In other words, the VCT Challengers model will be applied in other regions.

Game Changers

Riot Games have organized over 40 Game Changer events last year to provide opportunities for women in VALORANT esports. Luckily, they will invest more in the field in 2023 and continue the Game Changers Championship. Per Riot, their ultimate goal is to see all genders represented across every level of VALORANT competition.

Stipend System

The news system that Riot will imply is going to be different from their regular franchising model that they use in LCS or Overwatch League as a second example. Riot will select partner teams across their three international leagues who are mainly dominant and known in the scene. The unity between the orgs and Riot is expected to be long term to grow the VALORANT scene. Teams won’t be charged any participation/franchising fees and moreover, Riot will provide financial stipends to the selected teams in return for their investment in growing the ecosystem.

The participating teams and more information about the system will be published this year, probably before the last quarter of 2022. Stay tuned for more updates!