Cover-Credits:
Riot Games put an end to all the speculation around the partnered teams that were going around social media by revealing the 30 teams that made it into the three Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2023 leagues. Riot Games kicked off a robust selection process to choose the partners for each league. The VCT 2023 season will introduce new events to the Champions Tour, providing players and fans with more opportunities to watch all of their favorite regional and international rivalries play out. As some of the rumors and leaks suggested, many big-name organizations failed to make the cut.
Most importantly, it is vital to understand that the circuit is categorized into three leagues – Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Pacific. Early on in the next season, all the 30 partnered teams will get to be on-site in Sao Paulo, Brazil for three weeks of high-stakes competition in a LAN.
VCT 2023: Partnered teams and selection process
Riot Games stated that the selection process for the VCT 2023 season was incredibly competitive and that it spanned months altogether. It included a written application, in-depth interviews, and financial reviews. The company also made it clear that it was looking for partners who shared similar visions and that past competitive performance was not a key consideration.
Americas
The Americas league includes teams from North America (NA), Brazil (BR), and Latin America (LATAM). While North America was offered five slots, the rest five were split between the other two regions. “These organizations have a proven track record of achieving success within esports and building brands with deeply loyal fan bases. Within each region of origin, fans recognize these teams for the storylines they foster and their ability to bridge esports and the broader gaming culture,” said Riot while addressing the teams selected to represent the Americas league.
The teams that made it in are:
100 Thieves (100T)
Cloud9 (C9)
Evil Geniuses (EG)
NRG
Sentinels (SEN)
KRÜ Esports (KRU)
FURIA (FUR)
LOUD
Leviatán (LEV)
MIBR
EMEA
Riot Games acknowledged that EMEA is vast and has an incredible FPS pedigree. “Our goal is to build local rivalries which will draw audiences through high stakes matches while growing VALORANT fandom over the long term.”
The ten EMEA teams are:
Fnatic (FNC)
Team Liquid (TL)
Team Vitality (VIT)
Karmine Corp (KCorp)
Giants (GIA)
Team Heretics (HER)
Fut Esports (FUT)
NAVI
BBL Esports
KOI
Pacific
VCT Pacific region will bring together teams from Asia Pacific (APAC), South Asia (SA), and East Asia (EA). Some big brands are included in this league. Riot assured that the mix of teams was carefully chosen to ensure the vibrant mosaic of countries and regions within the Asia-Pacific was well-represented.
The ten teams are as follows:
Paper Rex (PRX)
ZETA DIVISION (ZETA)
Detonation Gaming
T1
Gen.G (GEN)
DRX
Team Secret (TS)
Talon Esports
Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ)
Global Esports (GE)
While the Americas league will be centered in a studio in Los Angeles, the EMEA will have a studio in Berlin and Pacific in Seoul.
Teams have already started to rebuild their Valorant rosters ahead of the VCT 2023 season. However, teams including G2 Esports, OpTic Gaming, Team SoloMid (TSM), and FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) not making the franchising raised a lot of eyebrows in the community.
