VALORANT Challengers CIS: Milestone Cancelled in 2023 VCT Season
The VALORANT Challengers League for the CIS region, known as Challengers CIS: Milestone, will not continue in the 2023 VCT season after careful consideration from the EMEA Challengers League officials, announced Riot Games today.
Background of Milestone
Milestone, previously a part of the EMEA regional leagues in 2022, was canceled in March of last year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The league included eight teams primarily composed of Russian players.
Challenges Faced
Within just two weeks of competition, matches were postponed in March and eventually, the entire league was canceled for the majority of the year. This also caused delays in the top tier of EMEA VALORANT competition and forced the former Gambit roster to compete as Masters 3 Champions (M3C) for the rest of the year.
Opportunities Remain for Players
Although Challengers CIS is not happening, players from Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan can still compete in the VCT and Challengers as EMEA residents. According to Riot’s decision, these players can join any team in any EMEA Challengers region as long as the team has a minimum of three players from a specific territory and can supplement their roster with players from the EMEA resident pool.
Please note that the EMEA rulebook no longer includes the CIS league or territories in its glossary. However, the countries that were originally a part of the CIS territory are still mentioned in the EMEA competitive region list.