Riot Games Introduces Valorant Challengers Oceania 2023

In August, Riot Games announced that Valorant Challengers in 2023 will be completely different from what fans have seen so far. Riot Games stated that it shall fully restructure the competitive esports scene format with international leagues taking the center stage. It felt that this new format will prove crucial for the growth of Valorant as a long-term esports title. Starting in 2023, Challengers will have a pathway into the international leagues, and eventually even global events under the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT). On 23rd November, Riot Games and Let’s Play Live (LPL) announced their continued partnership for Valorant tournaments and introduced Valorant Challengers Oceania 2023. The Valorant Challengers Oceania 2023 will be the official pathway for Oceania to the Valorant Pacific League.

All we know about Valorant Challengers Oceania 2023

LPL will be the official global pathway for Oceania-based (OCE) Valorant teams and players across 2023 and 2024 and it shall also be the official tournament provider and broadcaster of these official events, which kicks off with Valorant Challengers Oceania 2023.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Riot Games once more to bring VALORANT esports and global pathways to the Oceanic region,” said Duane Mutu, founder and managing director of LetsPlay.Live. “Oceania has been a strong contender on the Valorant stage over 2021 - 2022, and we’re excited to be shining a light on our player and desk talent through broadcasts and tournaments across the next two years, solidifying LPL’s place in the OCE scene” he added.

"We're excited to be continuing our partnership with LetsPlay.Live to deliver quality Valorant esports to our Oceanic players," said Ben Galea, Oceanic league manager for Riot Games.

Valorant Challengers Oceania format

Valorant Challengers Oceania 2023 will take place over six months across two stages and will feature a massive $100,000 AUD prize pool split across the two stages of play. Notably, Stage 2’s champions will receive an invite to the APAC (Asia Pacific) Valorant Ascensions tournament, where the top team will join the Valorant Pacific League.

The Open Qualifiers for Valorant Challengers Oceania Stage 1 will be held between 15th and 18th December 2022, with the top eight teams qualifying for Stage 1. Following this, Stage 1 will take place from January through March 2023, with Stage 2 Open Qualifiers taking place in early March. April 2023 will see the commencement of Stage 2 and conclude in June 2023.

Notably, each Stage will have three phases:

• Phase 1 - Open Qualifiers

• Phase 2 - Group Stage

• Phase 3 - Regional Playoff

The eligible countries to participate in Oceania are as follows:

• Australia

• Papua New Guinea

• New Zealand

• Fiji

• Solomon Islands

• Vanuatu

• New Caledonia (France)

• Samoa

• Kiribati

• The Federated States of Micronesia

• Tonga

• The Marshall Islands

• Cook Islands (NZ)

• Wallis and Futuna (France)

• Tuvalu

• Nauru

• Niue (NZ)

• Tokelau (NZ)

• The Pitcairn Islands (UK)

• Heard Island

• McDonald Islands

To learn more about the rules and regulations, players can check out the LPL Valorant event site. All matches for Valorant Challengers Oceania 2023 will be broadcast on twitch.tv/lpl_valorant and twitch.tv/riotgamesoce. For the latest updates and information, fans can follow LPL Valorant on Twitter.