Cover-Credits:
- Valorant's First Strike tournament is underway for Europe with teams competing for a prize pool of €85,000
- G2 Esports, Team Liquid, PFX Esports, and SUMN FC have qualified and four more teams will move on to the main event.
- Valorant First Strike Europe grand finals will be broadcasted on Twitch and YouTube on December 6.
Valorant’s esports scene continues to grow with Riot Games introducing a series of tournaments under the Valorant First Strike banner. With the recent success of the Ignition series, the game’s competitive scene looks very promising in Europe. The series of First Strike tournaments will be organized by Riot Games, and it features all important regions across the globe.
Europe, Korea, North America, and South America will be part of the majors. Asia, Turkey, Japan, Oceania, Brazil, and CIS will be part of the minors. The majors including Valorant First Strike Europe will feature bigger events and a prize pool of up to $100,000 (€85,000) for each region shared by the top 8 qualifying teams.
Valorant First Strike Europe Schedule and Format
The Valorant First Strike Europe qualifiers were scheduled from November 9 to November 22. The main event is scheduled from December 3-6, and it will feature the top eight teams. On December 6, Riot will award the first-ever European champions in Valorant. With the European region being so incredibly competitive and full of talent, we are excited to see who takes the crown.
Image by Riot Games
The open qualifiers for Europe were split into four tournaments. Riot did not tie teams to a single qualifier. Teams that got knocked out in the first qualifier got another shot via the second qualifier. The qualifiers followed a best-of-one single-elimination format.
Image by Riot Games
The upcoming playoffs will feature a best-of-three format. G2 Esports, Team Liquid, PFX Esports, and SUMN FC are the first four teams to qualify for the tournament. Four more teams will proceed to the final stage and compete for the grand prize. G2’s win came at the cost of some controversy after being beaten by Guild Esports. Riot punished Guild Esports for making use of an illegal exploit and awarded G2 the win.
RELATED: Riot Games Announces 2021 Esports Plans For Competitive VALORANT in SEA
What Maps Are Being Played?
The map pool currently consists of Ascent, Split, Haven, and Bind. At the main stage event, Icebox will be added to the map rotation. The teams select maps from pool at the start of each round.
Which Agents Are Allowed in The Tournament?
All agents were allowed in the Valortant First Strike Europe tournament except Skye. Since the Week #2 qualifiers, Skye has been enabled for teams to try out in the competitive format. Omen, Sova, and Jett have the highest pick rate currently, with all 3 agents seeing usage in over 90% of the matches.
Where to Watch
Valorant First Strike Europe can be streamed on Twitch and YouTube on the official channels. You can check out the streams using the links below.
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/valorant
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8CX0LD98EDXl4UYX1MDCXg
RELATED: David Beckham’s Guild Esports Enters VALORANT With Swedish Lineup
