VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 EMEA region details

It has been just over 24 hours since the conclusion of VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021 as well as VCT 2021, and we already have details about what the next installment will bring.

Before diving into the specifics of the VCT 2022 structure, it is worth mentioning what Riot’s vision for the upcoming VCT has had notable changes including the emphasis on more regional, and women tournaments. The press release by Riot stated:

"By developing a new, multi-layered ecosystem, we can give opportunities to all players; from amateur and aspiring pro gamers participating in the newly created VALORANT Regional Leagues and VALORANT Regional Circuits, to the new wave of women taking VALORANT esports to the next level through our Game Changers programme; to the world's truly elite VALORANT stars through the VALORANT Champions Tour."

The change in vision has led to a revamp of the traditional VCT Structure to include VLRs and VRC as the image below demonstrates:

VRC

From 2022 onwards, be starting to roll out a series of new competitions specifically for player’s just starting out. VRCs will feature a series of local tournaments accessible to everybody. Essentially, these tournaments will provide players of all skill levels with a chance to compete in official, organized tournaments. Local players will be able to compete in individual events and gain circuit points for their team during the season and at the culmination of each season, the teams with the highest points will compete for the title of circuit champions.

VRL

As the name suggests, VRL (Valorant Regional Leagues) will feature a series of regional tournaments hosted by partner organizations that will have two stages over the year, including a regular season and playoffs. The winner of each VRL will qualify for the VCT Promotion Tournament at the end of stage one, whereas the winner of VRL Stage 2 has a direct spot at the VRL EMEA finals. Furthermore, at least once every season, a portion of the participating teams will be decided through open qualifiers. In 2022, Riot Games will be launching eight new EMEA VRLs in:

• Spain (Players from Portugal and Italy are also eligible to compete in this league) operated by LVP
• France (Players within Benelux are also eligible to compete in this league) operated by Freaks 4U Gaming
• UK, Ireland & Nordics operated by Promod Esports
• Poland + EE (Players from Israel are also eligible to compete in this league) operated by FRENZY
• CIS operated by GIG Me
• MENA operated by Calyx Gaming
• Turkey operated by ESA Esports
• DACH operated by Freaks 4U Gaming

The VRL season of 2022 will commence with qualifiers on January 24, while the first split starts on the week of February 14.

Game Changers

In 2022, Riot will host three VCT Game Changers EMEA series, with the first taking place in January and the remaining two in May and September. The winning team from these tournaments will be eligible to compete in the Global Game Changers event in November. A new Game Changers EMEA Academy is also being launched, which will allow new teams to play in up to six events throughout the year and determine their eligibility to transition into the Game Changers series. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the VCT Game Changers EMEA 2022 circuit will run simultaneously with the VRL and VCT open qualifications, to allow teams to compete in both tournaments without any issues.

VCT 2022

The format of this section is similar to VCT 2021, with a few exceptions. Since the four EMEA teams who competed in VALORANT Champions 2021 will have a direct invitation to VCT Stage 1, a total of eight spots will be available through two open and closed qualifiers in each territory: four in the EU, two in Turkey, and two in the CIS with MENA teams being given the opportunity to compete in any of these qualifiers. The VCT promotion tournament will allow winners of the eight VRLs to qualify for VCT Stage 2, by facing them off against the 7th-8th place teams from Stage 1 with two VCT slots on the line.

This is all the new information released in today’s update about the EMEA’s VCT 2022 structure. More information on the overall format for VCT will be released soon.