by More news concerning the new Valorant partnered league is making the rounds. Riot Games has confirmed that it will add three new participants every year to the exclusive partnership leagues.
Many teams have received disappointing news recently as they did not make the cut to be a partner team. That has led to some exiting the esports title while others are waiting for further information from the organizers.
With the recent announcement, there is hope for some teams who did not make it through the rigorous screening process. Through the newly introduced Ascension circuit also organized by Riot, three teams will have the opportunity to become partners.
The partnership, which is scheduled to commence in 2023, will see the first addition happen in 2024. Each of the three leagues will receive one new participant every year.
In 2023, a total of 30 teams will participate in the partnership leagues. The regions involved included Europe Middle East and Africa, Americas, and Asia-Pacific.
Although more information regarding the format of the Ascension circuit is yet to be released, the champions from each region will get the nod to join the partnership teams. By 2028, a total of 42 teams will be participating in the partnership leagues.
Meanwhile, teams will have to compete in the regional Challengers leagues to reach the Ascension tournament. There will be 21 Challenger leagues spread across several regions, and the best teams from those leagues will advance to their respective regional tournaments.
Earlier in the month, Riot revealed that partnered teams could receive up to $1.5 million as yearly pay. Although several factors will play a role in determining what team receives the highest pay, the minimum amount receivable is $600,000.
However, it is more likely that the APAC league will receive lower amounts due to the cost of operation not being as much as their counterparts in America and EMEA.
As we await more information from Riot regarding VCT 2023, action continues in the league. Teams are getting ready to compete in the 2022 Valorant Champions scheduled to commence on September 2.
16 teams have secured their spots for the offline event taking place in Istanbul, Turkey. Although an official prize pool is yet to be announced, it is expected to be at least $1 million.
The same was offered in the 2021 Champions, with Acend defeating Gambit Esports 3-2 in the grand final to walk away with the grand prize. A seventh-place finish in the EMEA standings was not enough to see the defending champions return to the biggest VCT event of the year. Although they had an opportunity to secure a spot through the Last Chance Qualifier, they did not make it past the lower round 1.
On BetOnline, FunPlus Phoenix are the favorites to win the 2022 VCT champions with moneyline odds of +375. The Chinese-owned team have had an outstanding year. Although they missed the Reykjavik Masters due to travel restrictions, they bounced back in exquisite fashion, winning the Copenhagen Masters in July.
