Riot Games revealed today new details about next year’s Valorant Champions Tour, as well as plans to expand its Challenger ranks for the next several years. Challengers who win in the Ascension tournaments will earn an invitation in the following year’s international leagues.
According to Riot, the upcoming season will feature 21 regional circuits across the Americas, APAC, and EMEA regions. Each Challenger team will have a two-year promotion to the international leagues. The three corresponding international leagues will expand by one team until 2027, when each will have 14 teams.
Whalen Rozelle, head of Riot Games’ esports operations, said in a statement, “Throughout the past few months, the overwhelming demand from teams to compete in the Valorant esports ecosystem led us to expand our plans for VCT Challengers. A strong Challenger ecosystem is a key part of Valorant esports’ long term success, and we believe connecting every level of the pyramid is the best way to give aspiring stars the chance to shine and teams to participate in meaningful high stakes competitions.”
This is part of a larger overhaul to Valorant’s esports scene by Riot Games. The company is also setting up long-term permanent partnerships with certain teams. Riot is currently running a selection process to pick these teams.