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China will now have an opportunity to compete in the Valorant Champions Tour as the region is being added to the competitive circuit. Riot Games announced the East Asia qualifiers which will serve as a gateway for Chinese teams to make it to Valorant Champions. The top two teams at the East Asia qualifiers will compete against the top teams from South Korea and Japan for a spot at the world championship later this year.
The East Asia qualifiers will be equivalent to a Last Chance Qualifier event
Since the launch of the Valorant Champions Tour, Riot Games has introduced new regions to the competitive circuit via the Last Chance Qualifier. Last year, South Asia got an opportunity to make it to Champions and it is now a part of the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. China is also likely to be eligible for Stage One and Two events starting from 2023.
This year, Chinese Valorant teams will have to participate in an upcoming East Asia qualifier event. The top two Chinese Valorant teams will go up against three teams from Japan and three team from South Korea for a single spot at Valorant Champions.
Riot Games will not be hosting a first-party event for the East Asia qualifiers and a third-party tournament organizer will be managing the qualifiers. If neither of the Chinese teams win the Last Chance Qualifier against Japanese and Korean teams, we will not be seeing China in the world championships this year.
Currently, Riot Games is not sponsoring any of the events that take place in China. With Riot Games moving to a franchised league format starting from next year, it is unknown how China will fit into the competitive circuit. Riot Games is yet to reveal any details about next year’s format for any region and we are likely to get more information after the conclusion of this year’s Champions event.
