VALORANT introduces Invite Division: A path to VCT Challengers from Premier
Today, VALORANT announced the final step of the In-Game Path to Pro. The new ‘Invite Division’ in Premier will be the highest level of competition in-game.
The teams that win in the Invite division stand a chance to qualify for one of the VCT Challenger Leagues around the world.
New Premier Division launching with VALORANT Episode 9 Act I (credits: Riot Games)Within each Premier Zone, the highest performing teams will be eligible to ascend to the respective Challengers league. With the launch of the new Invite division, Riot Games and VALORANT officially complete their vision for Path to Pro.
Now upcoming players make a team, play tournaments, rise up in the ranking and ascend to Challengers directly via in-game Premier mode.
The Invite Division will launch with the start of Episode 9, Act 1 on June 25, 2024.
Promotion in VALORANT Premier
The Episode 8 Act III Premier season will introduce promotion. If a team wins the playoffs in their division, they recieve a promotion.
The same applies for ‘Invite Division’ the highest level of competitive play in Premier. Top teams in Episode 8 Act III Premier Contender Division will receive a promotion to the ‘Invite Division’ of Episode 9 Act 1 Premier.
Premier will also introduce standardized rules in all division; they are as follows:
- The team gets the promotion. The team owner or captain can add or remove players without losing the promotion, but a player does not get a promotion after he’s removed/left.
- Even if maximum players are changed, the team does not lose the promotion.
- Like rank-up, teams can move up multiple divisions
- Promotions are only applicable for the following stages. If you miss the following premier, the team will be seeded again.
- The Playoffs qualification threshold is set at 600.
Additionally, VALORANT has introduced changes to the Contenders and the Invite divisions. The focus of these changes is to create a hyper-competitive environment where “the players who are best at winning as a team will rise to the top to take their shot in the pros”.
These changes are as follows(only applicable for Invite and Contender Divisions);
- Teams must play two scheduled games per week
- Losses will now be 0 points
- Teams with similar records play against each other.
- Teams with the lowest Premier score receives a bye in case of uneven teams.
- Teams qualify for Playoffs based on standings instead of Premier score
If a team is eligible for a promotion to the invite division, the Riot team will contact the team owners and provide details regarding the same.
VALORANT will also introduce a ‘Contender Eligible’ tag for the players. VALORANT will award the tag to the players who have previously played in Contender or Invite divisions and are ranked Immortal 3 or higher.
These players can directly join contender and invite division teams and are directly seeded into contender division after creating a new team.
With the final steps of Path to Pro in place, VALORANT has successfully completed it's plans of Path to Pro. The vertically integrated esports structure will allow top talent to advance from In-Game Premier into higher level of plays in Challengers, the International League and potentially global events such as Masters and Champions.
VALORANT's vertically integrated esports structure (credits: Riot Games)Riot Games and VALORANT will share the additional details closer to the launch of Episode 9 Act I. You can follow VALORANT X/Twitter or VCT X/Twitter for all the updates.
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Featured Image Credits: VALORANT / Riot Games