Valorant Champions EMEA: What can we expect in 2022?

Riot Games recently published an article explaining all of the changes and additions to the EMEA competitive circuit for the year 2022. Whether you're an amateur or a professional, this is for you!

The competitive circuit will be divided up so that each player can participate at their level. For example, there will be an amateur circuit which any time can enter. At a higher level, there will be Game Changers, as well as Valorant Regional Leagues. Finally, the best players will compete in the Valorant Champions Tour with Challengers, Masters and Champions.

New Valorant Regional Leagues

The Valorant Regional Leagues are entering the Valorant competitive circuit. They will aim to create a pool of future professional players, and support local communities. To begin with, they will involve eight regions :

Other regions may be added in the coming seasons, depending on the popularity and audience generated by these first eight leagues.

Each league will be played in two phases, consisting of normal season and play-offsEach of them will crown its champion team. At the end of phase 1, the best team from each VRL will advance to a promotion tournament, which we will tell you about later. Throughout the year, the teams will collect points and those with the most points at the end will be able to enter the VRL EMEA final, the highlight of the season. If a team is the champion of a VRL at the end of phase 2, it will qualify directly to the EMEA final, even if it has fewer points than the top teams.

The first season of the VRL will start on 24th January with qualifying phases, and then the tournament will start on 14th February.

Changes to the Valorant Champions Tour

As we mentioned a few days ago in one of our articles, the format of the Valorant Champions Tour will change for the 2022 season. Previously, it consisted of three phases. From now on, it will only have two.

The first phase starts in February. The four teams that participated in the Valorant Champions will be automatically invited back to the VCT, but the others will have to qualify in two qualifying phases starting on 10th January. Eight slots will be up for grabs, four for Europe, two for Turkey and two for the CIS. Once all the teams have qualified, they will compete in Challengers.

The second phase will be preceded by a promotion tournament, in which the winners of the Valorant Regional Leagues will face the last two teams in the VCT ranking. Two slots will then be up for grabs, and the top two teams from the tournament will advance to phase 2 of the VCT. This means that teams from the VRL can play in the VCT, but teams from the VCT can also be demoted to the VRL.

EMEA Game Changers

On the side of Game Changers there are also changes. For the 2022 season, three events will take place in January, May and September. The teams that manage to win these stages will automatically qualify for the global Game Changers in November. Riot did not give any indication of other ways to qualify, but it can be assumed that a points system will also be implemented.

The Game Changers EMEA Academy will also appear. The aim is broadly the same as for the VRL: to provide an opportunity for players to turn professional. The teams involved in the GCA will participate in six tournaments dedicated to them, but will also be able to take part in the qualifying stages of the VRL. This will give them extra visibility, especially if they manage to secure a place.

Creation of a competitive amateur circuit

From 2022 onwards, Riot Games wants to focus on developing new talents. If the VRL and the GCA are already there to fulfil this role, the publisher has decided to put all the chances on its side to unearth the talents of tomorrow and this involves the creation on an amateur circuit: the HRV.

Gradually, regional circuits of Valorant will be created to give any player a chance to participate in a tournament and compete against other teams in their region. Just like the bigger circuits, this one will have its points system. Teams will be able to earn points throughout the season by participating in a number of tournaments and, at the end, the teams with the most points will compete to become the circuit champions.

Finally, Riot Games aims to broadcast its Valorant competitions in as many languages as possible. That's why from next season onwards, you will be able to follow the tournaments in at least English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Polish and Arabic.

The 2022 season has many surprises in store for us, and we can't wait to discover all these new competitive formats!