by After a riveting Last Chance Qualifier across several regions, all teams participating in the 2022 Valorant Champions have been revealed.
The teams have further been split into groups ahead of the Valorant Champions, which is scheduled to commence on August 31.
The biggest yearly event in VCT history is yet to reveal the prize pool. But judging by the 2021 Champions, teams will be fighting for the larger piece of at least $1 million.
All teams will be making their way to Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in the 2022 Champions. The participants have been split into four groups of four with all matches being a best-of-3 except for the lower bracket final and grand final. Group stage action will follow a double-elimination format, with the top two in each group advancing to the playoffs.
Who will be competing in the 2022 VCT Champions?
Representatives from each of the regions in Valorant will make their way to Turkey to compete in the 2022 Champions. A total of 16 participants will feature in the tournament, with Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, North America, and Asia-Pacific each having three slots. The remaining seven slots are shared among South America and East Asia.
In NA, OpTic Gaming and XSET had the most points at the end of the season. The third to tenth-placed teams participated in the LCQ, with 100T winning the event and sealing the last slot in the Champions.
FunPlus Phoenix had an outstanding year, winning the EMEA Stage 1 Challengers, finishing second in Stage 2, and winning the just-concluded Copenhagen Masters. Due to travel issues, they missed the Reykjavik Masters.
Fnatic and Team Liquid will also be representing the region, with Liquid qualifying through the EMEA LCQ.
In what was in no way a close contest, Paper Rex dominated the APAC region to secure their Champions spot with 1050 total points. XERXIA, who accumulated 300, stole the second spot while BOOM ESports sealed their berth through the region’s LCQ. Meanwhile, DRX (Korea), ZETA DIVISION (Japan), and EDward Gaming (China) will be representing East Asia.
Loud, Leviatan, KRU Esports, and FURIA Esports are the representatives from South America. While Loud and Leviatan came in through their respective circuit standings, KRU and FURIA had to qualify through the SA LCQ.
Paper Rex and EDward gaming will kick off proceedings in the tournament. The APAC team are the favorites to win with moneyline odds of $1.44 across several esports betting sites while EDward are pegged at $2.63.
Valorant Champions Teams 2022
Group A
Paper Rex (Asia-Pacific)
EDward Gaming (East Asia)
Leviatan (Latin America)
Team Liquid (Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
Group B
Optic Gaming (North America)
BOOM Esports (Asia-Pacific)
ZETA DIVISION (Japan)
LOUD (Brazil)
Group C
XSET (North America)
FunPlus Phoenix (Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
KRU Esports (Latin America)
XERXIA (Asia-Pacific)
Group D
DRX (Korea)
FURIA Esports (Brazil)
Fnatic (Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
100 Thieves (North America)
Valorant Champions dates
Group Stage: August 31 – September 5
Lower Bracket Final: September 17
Grand Final: September 18
FPX bookies favourites to win Valorant Champions 2022
On GG Bet, the streaking FPX are the favorites to win the competition with win odds of $4.75.
OpTic, who won the Reykjavik Masters and finished third in the Copenhagen Masters, are the second-best team with moneyline odds of $5.0.
With the Valorant Champions playoffs following a double-elimination format, teams will have the opportunity to overturn one bad game. But with the group stage format not giving any room for slip ups, teams will have to be at their best from the jump.
