Starting from March 26 2023, the Valorant Champions Tour will kick off three separate leagues: Americas, Pacific, and EMEA. Not only will significant financial awards be up for grabs for those that perform well, but it is also the gateway to the VCT Masters in June.
Below we provide a quick summary for these leagues, including the format and which teams will compete.
How the Americas/Pacific/EMEA Leagues work
The leagues begin on 26 March and end a little over two months later – on 28 May. Each league will feature ten teams, where they initially take part in a regular group season. The teams that qualify from the league will gain their place in the playoffs. Here’s a closer look at how it works:
Regular season
The regular season functions as a single round robin, where each match is played over a best of three. Once the ten teams have played each other once, the final standings are used to determine who advances to the next round. Those that place seventh-to-tenth are eliminated from the competition. The top six progress to the Playoffs.
Playoffs
The playoffs follow a double-elimination bracket format. Each match remains as a best of three for the quarter finals and semi-finals. However, for the Upper Bracket, Lower Bracket, and Grand Final matches, this is upped to a best of five. Those that place in the top three for the league earn qualification to the VCT Masters.
The teams playing at the VCT 2023 Leagues
With ten teams in each league, there are 30 teams in total that are fighting it out over the prize pool and qualification spots to the VCT Masters. Below are the teams that are set to appear in each league.
Americas League
Early predictions might place the spotlight on Brazilian outfit LOUD being the team most likely to win the Americas League. While they are in great form and clearly one of the best teams in the world, this league is a seriously competitive one. Teams such as 100 Thieves, Cloud9, and Leviatan will be pushing them all the way to that coveted first place spot.
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9
- Evil Geniuses
- FURIA Esports
- KRU Esports
- Leviatan
- LOUD
- MIBR
- NRG
- Sentinels
Pacific League
With Paper Rex, DRX, and ZETA DIVISION currently ranked among the top ten Valorant teams on the planet, this league is sure to be a competitive one.
- DetonatioN FM
- DRX
- Gen.G
- Global Esports
- Paper Rex
- Rex Regum Qeon
- T1
- Talon Esports
- Team Secret
- ZETA DIVISION
EMEA League
As one of the top ranked Valorant teams in the world, Fnatic will be aiming to top the EMEA League. However, they will face plenty of competition from some of the best EMEA teams around.
- BBL Esports
- Fnatic
- FUT Esports
- Giants
- Karmine Corp
- KOI
- Natus Vincere
- Team Heretics
- Team Liquid
- Team Vitality
You can also check out our VCT Masters Tokyo preview.