The New Home for VALORANT Esports in Europe, Turkey, and CIS
The 2023 season of VALORANT esports in Europe, Turkey, and CIS has found its new home. When the VCT EMEA league begins in March 2023, the 10 competing teams will battle it out at a brand new studio located at the Messe Berlin Charlottenburg. This comes after the conclusion of the São Paulo Kickoff event, which featured all 30 global partnered teams.
The construction of this new studio, which is being built separately from Riot’s Berlin headquarters and the LEC Studio, is currently underway. Due to scheduling conflicts between LEC and VCT EMEA, the two events cannot share a studio. This also aligns with the efforts of official VALORANT events to establish their own distinct style and atmosphere, differentiating themselves from pro League of Legends events.
The VCT EMEA team has also officially announced the format for the inaugural season in 2023. The league will adopt a single round-robin format spanning over eight weeks, with matches taking place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, except for a designated super week. Each team will play nine matches, facing off against all other nine competitors.
The top six teams from the league will advance to a modified double-elimination bracket. The number of teams from the VCT EMEA playoffs that will proceed to the Masters events in June is currently undisclosed. Following the Masters events, there will be a Last Chance Qualifier in July and the final Champions event in August. Challengers tournaments will run parallel to the VCT EMEA schedule, culminating in an Ascension tournament in July where one team will earn a two-year promotion slot for VCT EMEA the following year.
In the coming years, the international VCT leagues will consist of two regular season splits. However, for the inaugural season in 2023, the first split will be replaced by the São Paulo Kickoff event.
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