The largest event in Valorant history is almost here. Kicking off on February 13 and running until March 4, VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo will bring together qualified, partnered teams from the Pacific, Americas, and EMEA VCT Leagues. The result: one of the most exciting, competitive esports tournaments of the year.
With live audiences being a feature throughout this three-week-long tournament, Riot Games claims this event will result in a “new era of our sport”.
The teams entering VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo
VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo is the kickoff tournament for Riot Games’ Valorant Champions Tour. They also want to get things off to a bang. Along with new rosters that are still being finalized until February 1, this event is seen as the best place to see which team got it right during the offseason.
Every partnered Valorant team will feature at the event in São Paulo. That’s right: all 30 teams will be battling it out to see who can make it to the Grand Finals. The teams are as follows:
VCT Americas
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9
- Evil Geniuses
- FURIA
- KRÜ
- Leviatán
- LOUD
- MIBR
- NRG
- Sentinels
VCT EMEA
- BBL
- Fnatic
- FUT
- Giants
- KCorp
- KOI
- NAVI
- Heretics
- Liquid
- Vitality
VCT Pacific
- DetonatioN Gaming
- DRX
- Gen.G
- Global Esports
- Paper Rex
- RRQ
- T1
- Talon
- Team Secret
- ZETA DIVISION
The early contenders to win the tournament
Aside from entrants, Riot Games has been quiet about any other details regarding VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo. There are no current details about the tournament format or the match schedule.
With that said, we are still able to look at the aforementioned list of teams and pick out some contenders that are worth backing.
That is certainly the case with 100 Thieves. The number one ranked Valorant team in North America, 100 Thieves is sure to have confidence in reaching the Grand Finals – and even going on to win.
However, the odds-on favorite at this tentative stage is Natus Vincere, aka NAVI, the current number-one team in Europe. This Ukrainian outlet won the G-Loot VALORANT Clash – Grand Finals back in November 2022, and they are aiming to build on this by getting the perfect start in the Champions Tour.
Another team that cannot go unmentioned is LOUD. Flying high at the top of the Valorant Brazil rankings, LOUD will be banking on home support to give them the edge in their matches. Although make no mistake: this team is capable of winning against the best, even without the crowd on their side.
There are numerous other teams that could break through and win this kickoff tournament. These teams include Fnatic, Sentinels, DRX, Cloud9, NRG, Liquid, and Paper Rex.