VALORANT Champions Tour 2024 introduces new China league, expands Ascension and Challengers

This year’s VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) will be concluding soon, and already, Riot Games, the developer of popular first-person shooter VALORANT, has unveiled some huge plans for the 2024 VCT esports season.

For the upcoming season, Riot is making several adjustments to the design and scope of VALORANT esports events to facilitate better progression, facilitate global expansion, and offer new avenues for players and spectators alike to enjoy the game.

Leo Faria, Global Head of VALORANT Esports, said that the team is “extremely proud of what we accomplished this year, in particular how our teams stepped up to promote the sport and their players,” and that they are “eager to unlock more opportunities in 2024 to highlight the best in the game.”

Here are some of the changes to expect for VCT 2024.

Season Kickoff

For the 2024 Season Kickoff, each international league will host a two-week tournament. In this leg of the competition, only the top eight teams from this new tournament will advance to the season's first major tournament, Masters Madrid, which will mark the first time a global VCT will be hosted in Spain.

China to debut as fourth official league

China's addition as VCT's fourth official league, after the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific, is, of course, one of the steps for VALORANT esports to open up competition in new regions.

VALORANT's aspiration to become the most global esport in the world is reflected in this monumental expansion, which recognises the potential and contributions of the Chinese community.

Shanghai will also host the second Masters tournament of the season, where twelve teams will compete for Championship Points and Champions qualification in addition to the new league.

Championship Points to be the 'unifying mechanism' to measure each team’s performance

One of the biggest changes to the upcoming season is the introduction of Champions Points. Not much has been revealed yet about how points will be awarded and how the system will be implemented.

However, it was said that Champions Points will be the “unifying mechanism across international leagues and global tournaments” to measure each team’s performance.

These points will also be used as part of the system for qualifying for international competitions.

VCT Ascension will accommodate 'unprecedented number of elite teams'

Three teams from the 2023 Ascension will be joining the international leagues in the coming year. The Guard (Americas), Gentle Mates (EMEA), and Bleed Esports (Pacific) will all be part of these leagues for two years beginning in 2024.

VCT Challengers: The Path to Pro Continues

In a recent blog post released by Faria on 15 August, he emphasised how Tier 2 continues to evolve and develop. However, he also highlighted that there were some challenges that they faced along the way, namely viewership and the calendar.

According to his post, many teams' seasons end in early June because they don't make it to Ascension tournaments. That's well over half the year without any official tournaments to compete in for these players—and this break is “too long.”

That said, for 2024, the Challengers calendar is “set to expand its footprint.” This means that more avenues to compete in Tier 2 will be made available so that the players in Challengers will continue to grow.

Additionally, to facilitate greater movement of players between the International Leagues, the Challengers, and the Game Changers, the Challengers will also implement a novel team affiliation and player loan system.

Furthermore, the new Premier mode, the newly released competitive mode in the game, will serve as the cornerstone of VALORANT's road to pro, giving players an in-game gateway into the VCT.

You can read more about VALORANT Esports here.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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