Welcome to the Thunderdome: Valorant North American Challengers League Circuit 2023 Split 1 Format Guide
The North American Challengers League 2023 is comprised of 12 teams competing over 2 splits during the year. The first split, set to run from the 1st of Feb until the 17th of Mar, will culminate in attendance to the Mid-Season Invitational.
Format
The 12 teams have been split into 2 groups of 6, competing in single round-robin format. Each series will be a Bo3. The group placements were decided through a randomised ball cage that first determined the placements of the 6 invited teams, before revealing where the 6 qualified teams would compete. Read here for an in-depth analysis of the team tier list and here for predictions for first round matchups.
Through placements, it was determined as followed:
Group A
- FaZe Clan
- Shopify Rebellion
- G2 Esports
- BreakThru
- Oxygen Esports
- Turtle Troops
Group B
- TSM
- The Guard
- M80
- Disguised
- Dark Ratio
- OREsports
Schedule
Matches will run from Wednesday to Friday regularly. Two series are scheduled to play out per day, with every team getting one series a week. A total of 30 series are expected to be played.
First match: 1600 EST (2100 GMT)
Second match: 1900 EST (0000 GMT)
*Week 3 will be pushed back to 27th Feb to accommodate the LOCK//IN tournament, which is slated to run from 13th of Feb until the 4th of Mar.
Week 1-5 Schedule and Matchups. Image Credit: Knights ArenaFor the Mid-Season Invitational, the top 4 teams from each Group will attend. The tournament will shift into a double-elimination Bo3 format. More information on it will be given when released.
Favorites and Teams to Look Out For
Obvious team favorites during this split will include G2 Esports, TSM, and The Guard. The Guard and TSM are poised to be both crowd-favorites and group toppers with their recent Ludwig x Tarik performance. Moreover, newcome M80 is an unknown quantity that many teams are already calling one of the strongest challengers in NA. Led by former Version1 IGL Alexander “Zander” Dituri, the roster brings back the powerhouse trio from Ghost Gaming, as well as former NRG star Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic.
Currently, teams such as G2 Esports and FaZe Clan lie on the tipping point, with their performance potentially going either ways. Both teams have solid lineups that could potentially disrupt and succeed. They will need to be tested however, and their first match will likely be very telling.
BreakThru and Disguised are the stories of the night from Open Qualifiers. Both teams succeeded in qualification on their first run through the Upper Bracket, and host extremely potent lineups. Neither lineups have been tested against the upper echelons of NA’s best, however, their first week will likely be a trial by fire. Should they emerge, they have the potential to do really well this split.
Finally, Turtle Troops has captured the hearts and minds of NA with their plucky determination and storylines. Peter “Governor” No especially, is a name that would be familiar to a large portion of the NA fanbase. Having played for a long while in the Tier 2 wastelands of Valorant, he has now assembled a worthy team to compete.