Distributed Slots: Riot Games announced regional slot allocations for Valorant Champions 2023
Valorant is in its third year of competitive play, and Champions 2023 is now on the horizon. The 2023 Valorant Champions Tour culminates in Champions 2023, set to take place in Los Angeles this year. As the biggest event of Riot’s FPS title, the S-tier tournament will include 16 of the best teams in the world in attendance.
What we know so far
As previously announced, Champions 2023 will take place between August 6th until the 26th. Moreover, it was also announced that unlike previous iterations, Champions will now take place across two locations. The early rounds will be held at the Shrine Auditorium, while the semi-finals onwards will be played at the Kia Forum.
VCT 2023 Summer Roadmap. Credit: Valorant Esports // Riot Games
Announced Slot Allocation
Each of the VCT leagues will receive 3 slots, meaning there will be guaranteed 9 of the partner teams arriving at VCT Champions, the top 3 contenders from each of the leagues. Moreover, each of the VCT leagues will also receive their own Last Chance Qualifier, allowing each league to send one more participant to champions for a total of 12 teams from each region through the regular circuit.
Furthermore, the winner of VCT Masters Tokyo, will earn an extra slot for their region, allowing for a total of 13 teams from the regional partner organizations. Riot has also announced, to the surprise of some, that China will be receiving three slots this year for Champions, bringing the total to 16 teams. Here is the complete breakdown of the slots:
- VCT Americas: 3 slots (+1 from LCQ)
- VCT EMEA: 3 slots (+1 from LCQ)
- VCT Pacific: 3 slots (+1 from LCQ)
- China: 3 slots
- VCT Masters Tokyo: 1 extra slot for the region
China's receiving of three slots was the biggest surprise for many, with this being the largest delegation the region will be able to send out to an international Valorant event. Moreover, this comes off the heels that VCT Masters Tokyo will be attended by two new teams aside from the given slots in the form of EDward Gaming and Attacking Soul Esports.
VCT Champions 2023 Slot Distribution Graphic. Credit: Valorant Esports // Riot Games
Summer Roadmap Schedule
Challengers Ascension (June 28th-July 16th)
The 23 Challengers Leagues will reach their conclusion with the Ascension tournament. Each of the three regions will host their own Ascension tournament, looking to promote three teams to the International Leagues in 2024.
Champions 2023 China Qualifiers (July 3rd-16th)
Twelve Chinese teams will battle through a qualifier, with the top three teams to receive invites to Champions 2023.
Last Chance Qualifier (For all three major regions)
Final chance for teams in the international leagues to claim a qualification spot to Champions 2023. Moreover, each of the LCQ's will qualify four teams including the LCQ, except for the region who wins VCT Masters Tokyo, who will earn an extra qualification spot.
Earned through Combat
The qualified teams for each region will be determine by their league standings at the end of the split, seeing the top three teams receiving automatic invitation. Because of the unique design of this year’s circuit, Masters and Champions will occur one after the other, with only the Last Chance Qualifier in between. This means, that the top three teams from each region will not only receive invites to VCT Masters Tokyo, but also Champions 2023, bringing incredible weight to each of the games this split for all three regions.
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