New leagues and in-game features will expand the esports ecosystem

The new tournament model will form groundbreaking long-term partnerships with select teams in 2023.

As of today, Riot Games has announced its groundbreaking plans for VALORANT esports. VALORANT esports will establish three international leagues in 2023 to ensure high-level competition. The new model will make long-term partnerships with a number of teams at no cost to maintain long-term consistency in the world’s fastest-growing esports. To support this initiative, Riot Games will be rolling out new features and events, including:

• Three international competitions where the world’s best teams compete on a weekly basis. In three international competitions, spanning teams from the Americas, EMEA and Asia, the best players will compete against each other in a LAN environment and against a live audience (health and safety permitting). The best teams that excel in their competitions throughout the year qualify for two international Masters events and the VALORANT Champions event, where one team will become the VALORANT World Champion.

• Created to bring out the best talent from around the world, the new competitive game mode is directly accessible to all players through the VALORANT Client. This mod complements existing leaderboards and offers players a new goal beyond ranked play, integrated into the esports ecosystem.

• With the new local competitions, the opportunities will increase for new talent aspiring to reach international elite competitions. The best teams in the in-game competitive mode will have the chance to compete against the best talents in their regions within their local leagues.

• Riot Games will create a new competitive esports environment in which select organizations can participate without paying an entry or entry fee, and forge long-term partnerships to achieve success.

Whalen Rozelle, Head of Esports Operations at Riot Games, said: “At VALORANT, we want to build the most breathtaking esports today, as well as the best-led, passionate and exciting teams in the industry. We designed our long-term partnership model for VALORANT not only to support the sustainability of the teams, but to support their development and organization so that they can keep up with the growth of VALORANT esports.”

“We are preparing for a long-term partnership that leads to success without subjecting selected organizations to participation costs. Our goal is for our partners to focus their resources on building the most competitive team possible, growing their own fan base through a variety of commercials and other esports-related initiatives.”

“Throughout 2022, Riot Games will conduct a selective submission process to identify the right long-term partners to make VALORANT the world’s leading FPS esports. Teams that meet the eligibility criteria will receive annual funding from Riot Games and exclusive opportunities to collaborate on unique in-game apps and products. The collaborating teams will be able to distribute esports-branded content, enabling VALORANT’s current 15 million monthly player base to reflect on their thoughts on the esports teams they both continue to play and watch.”

“All of these innovations will support a competitive ecosystem that will take VALORANT to the next level of growth,” said John Needham, Head of Esports at Riot Games. “We want to create a great competitive position that allows for more exciting competitions, organize new events that will captivate the live audience and build experiences that will impress millions of online fans. We will use everything we have learned from LoL Esports over the past 10 years to build the ecosystem that will make VALORANT the best esports for generations today.”

“In 2017, Riot Games became the first game publisher to announce a permanent partnership program with League of Legends esports (LoL Esports). This model established a formal partnership between the teams and Riot Games, allowing everyone to embrace a shared long-term vision. Since 2017, we have applied this model to North America, Europe, China, Latin America, Korea, Brazil, Turkey and the wider esports industry. Players benefited from increased revenue and stronger support systems, while teams could plan for their future for several years.”

“The value of the sustainable partnership has also increased within the Riot Games ecosystem, attracting many different talents from both the esports industry and traditional sports. By formally engaging with the teams, we have been able to create a more engaging esports experience by working directly together for large-scale events and digital experiences.”

Source: (BHA) – Beyaz News Agency