This summer is hot but the Valorant eSports scene is even hotter! Masters Tokyo ended with the win of Fnatic, who took their honestly earned $350,000; then there was Challengers Ascension for EMEA, Americas, and Pacific leagues. And now we get to watch the brilliant finale of the VALORANT Champions Tour!
With all these activities, live Valorant wagers are surely running hot: VCT is an excellent opportunity to win not just for players but for bettors as well.
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While the fans are making popcorn to watch the group stage, and bettors are calculating their chances and future profits, let us have a brief overlook of the event itself.
VCT: Walking Down a Memory Lane
Valorant was released in 2020, and the very first VCT season occurred in 2021. In the beginning, the tournament had open qualifiers, three tiers, and the following outline:
- Stage One Challengers: open-qualified regional events that marked the start of the tournament.
- The winners lose their division by regions and move up to Stahe One Masters.
- In Stage Two Challengers, the fight is between the best teams from Stage One Masters and players who got in through a separate open qualifier.
- The top players proceed to Stage Two Masters where entries to Champions are at stake.
- Regional “Last Chance” qualifiers match their name: this is the last opportunity for one team per region to get a slot in the last stage.
- In the Champions Stage, 16 teams compete for the main title and the best prize.
In 2021 and 2022, the prize pool of the Champions was $1,000,000 divided between the players. Acend left with $350,000 in 2021, and LOUD got themselves $300,000 in 2022 — along with the championship.
New Ecosystem for VCT 2024
In August 2022, Whalen “Riot Magus” Roselle revealed International Leagues as part of a partnership ecosystem. 30 teams had been painstakingly selected by Riot Games to represent them in the initial season.
The entry to Masters was to be acquired through a kick-off event in which all the players participated. After that, the teams were to fight in three Masters tournaments, one event per League:
- Berlin hosted EMEA matches;
- LA was the best choice for Americas;
- and Pacific played in Seoul.
Tokyo Masters, with slots in Champions at stake, followed and concluded on June 26 with the victory of Fnatic.
LA Champions 2024: Organization and Other Info
The tournament boasts a prize pool of $2,250,000 and was sponsored by:
- Aim Lab
- AWS
- HyperX
- Mastercard
- Prime Gaming
- Red Bull
- Secretlab
- INZONE
- Verizon
- XBOX
Each player will have a share: from $1,000,000 for champions to $20,000 for losers. Moreover, teams in partnership with VCT will receive half of the net profits from the Champions 2024 Skin Collection.
The event lasts from August 6 to August 26. The group stage is in GSL format, all matches are best-of-three. In playoffs, teams fight in the elimination bracket, all matches Bo3, except for finals which are Bo5.
Team List
- Bilibili Gaming
- DRX
- EDward Gaming
- Evil Geniuses
- Fnatic
- FunPlus Phoenix
- FUT Esports
- Giants
- KRÜ Esports
- LOUD
- Natus Vincere
- NRG
- Paper Rex
- Team Liquid
- T1
- ZETA DIVISION
Statistics
- Maps used in the tournament: Ascent, Bind, Fracture, Haven, Lotus, Pearl, Split.
- China is the most represented country with 16% of players.
- The main language on streams is English.
- So far, the fans watched almost 10 million hours of streams.
History of Valorant Champions Tour: From Origins to Professional eSports
The VCT is one of the most influential and prestigious tournaments developed by Riot Games. Since its launch, VCT has become a true barometer of skill and strategy, allowing the best teams from around the world to compete at a high level.
Prize Pools and Commercialization
Initially, VCT started as a relatively modest event with not very large prize pools. However, as the game became popularized and the number of spectators increased, the prize pools became more and more impressive.
This, in turn, attracted the attention of major sponsors and organizations willing to invest in the development of the Valorant scene.
Current prize funds run into the millions of dollars, and tournament participants are often professional teams with multi-million dollar budgets and their own training facilities.
Format and Globalization
Initially, the championship focused primarily on regional competitions, but over time the tournament has become increasingly globalized.
Today, it features teams from all over the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, and even Australia.
This has given many talented players a chance to showcase themselves on the world stage, which has certainly contributed to the growing interest in the tournament.
Influence on the eSports Scene
The VCT has had a significant impact on the eSports as a whole. It is one of those tournaments that has managed to attract the attention of not only eSports fans, but also regular spectators.
From a media standpoint, this has led to an increase in viewership ratings, which in turn has attracted more sponsors and investors to the world of Valorant and eSports in general.
Today, Valorant continues to evolve, setting new standards of quality and competition in the world of professional gaming.
With the increase in prize pools and the level of event organization, we can expect the major tournament to continue to attract attention on the global stage, giving new talents the opportunity to showcase themselves and compete for the title of the best in the world!
