VCT Americas set to kick off at the Riot Games Arena on April 1

After an exciting first event of the VALORANT Champions Tour, LOCK IN, fans are eagerly anticipating the upcoming regular season in each of the three regions: Americas, EMEA, and the Pacific. The captivating performances from participating teams have sparked the interest for how the rest of VCT will play out.

Regular season starts in April

VCT Americas will officially commence at the Riot Games Arena in Santa Monica on April 1 featuring teams from North America, LATAM and Brazil that were previously accepted into the Riot Partner program. This article will provide a comprehensive overview of all the details you need to be aware of prior to the event.

Schedule and format:

The regular season for VCT Americas will take place over eight weeks featuring a single round-robin tournament format. Teams will compete in a weekly Best-of-Three (Bo3) match, with the exception of the "super week," where they will play two matches.

Following the regular season, the top six teams will earn their spot in the double-elimination bracket playoffs to decide which top three teams will compete in Masters Tokyo and cement their qualification into Champions later this year. However, teams that fall short of making the cut will have one more shot to qualify for VCT Champions Los Angeles through the Last Chance Qualifier. Each matchday will begin at 12pm PT and continue through to 5pm PT on the dates mentioned below:

• Regular Season: April 1 - May 20
  • Saturdays & Sundays - Double Match Days
  • Mondays: Single Match Days
• Playoffs: May 23 - May 28
• Last Chance Qualifier: July 15 - July 23

In-person and broadcasting options:

For fans looking to witness the Americas league matches in-person, the tickets will be available to purchase through this online portal on the following days:

• Weeks 1-4: March 7 at 10am PT
• Weeks 5-6: April 14 at 10am PT
• Weeks 7-8 & Playoffs: April 28 at 10am PT

Customary to most Riot tournaments, the matches will be broadcast in English, Spanish and Portuguese beginning at 12pm PT every Saturday, Sunday and Monday on respective YouTube and Twitch channels.

Challenger circuit formats and Ascension tournament

Due to the changes introduced to the VCT structure by Riot, the Challengers circuits will be running in parallel to the regular season through which emerging teams will be offered a pathway to promotion within the VCT International League. Prior to reaching Ascension, teams are required to compete and succeed in their respective regional Challengers Leagues, the formats of which are specified below.

North America

The North American Challengers League is comprised of the top 12 teams in the region, divided into two groups of six. The circuit will feature two Challenger splits separated by a Mid-Season invitational which will feature only the top eight teams from the first split. At the end of each event, teams will be awarded points based on their placement, which will ultimately determine the eight teams for Challengers playoffs set to take place in April. After a rigorous double-bracket tournament in the Challenger playoffs, only the top two teams will qualify for the Ascension tournament. Matches for the Challengers circuit will be broadcast on both YouTube and Twitch.

LATAM

The LATAM Challengers circuit has been divided into two separate leagues: LATAM North and LATAM South. Each league will feature six of the region's top teams, competing against each other in a single-round-robin format. Throughout the two stages, teams will accumulate circuit points based on their placement which will determine the four teams that will advance to the each league’s playoffs, competing in a double-elimination bracket with a spot at Ascension at stake in the Grand Finals. With this format, two teams from LATAM will have the opportunity to compete at the Ascension event, showcasing the best that the region has to offer. Matches for the Challengers circuit will be broadcast on both YouTube and Twitch.

Brazil

As opposed to NA and LATAM, BR Challengers will feature only the top eight teams during regular the main events with top six teams advance into the double-elimination playoffs, a format consistent throughout each of the three regions. Teams for the playoffs will be decided based on the points accumulated in each stage of the Challengers circuit and out of the six teams in the playoffs, only two will be granted the opportunity to compete in the Ascension tournament. Matches for the Challengers circuit will be broadcast on both YouTube and Twitch.

Featured image courtesy of Riot Games