The VALORANT Champions Tour is back and the second run of the VCT scheduled for 2022 will look to build on the success created during its inaugural campaign.
Several new initiatives and changes have been announced for 2022, including the creation of national leagues, the expansion of Game Changers, the alteration of the Challengers format, the inclusion of “offseason” events run by third-party organizers, and more.
Here’s a comprehensive guide to all things VCT 2022.
VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 format
There are going to be a lot of changes to the VCT format for 2022, but the overall premise is still the same. Each region will have a Challengers stage with the winning teams advancing to international LAN competition at Masters events before a final Champions tournament at the end of the year.
This year, however, instead of three stages of Challengers and Masters events before Champions in December, there will be two stages prior to a Champions event currently set for September. The final months of the year will be set aside for “offseason series and events” run by third-party organizers.
The main events for each Challengers stage are changing, too. Instead of three separate double-elimination brackets stemming from open qualifiers for each Challengers main event, each Challengers stage will feature one qualifier leading to a seven-week main event, with five weeks of round-robin play culminating in a double-elimination bracket to determine who will go to Masters. Masters Two will award an automatic berth to Champions for the first-place finisher.
Within EMEA, eight different regional leagues are being run alongside the Challengers events: Spain, France, Turkey, CIS, MENA, DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Northern Europe, and Eastern Europe. The winner of each league’s season advances to a promotion tournament with two spots in Challengers Two on the line.
Additionally, Game Changers is returning as a supplement to the VCT for 2022. The format will be the same as 2021, with three different series featuring an open qualifier and a double-elimination bracket. This year, however, Game Changers will culminate in the first international Game Changers Championship.
VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 schedule
Here’s the current schedule for VCT 2022.
Stage One
- EMEA Challengers One: Feb. 11 to March 27
- NA Challengers One: Feb. 11 to March 27
- BR Challengers One: Feb. 12 to March 27
- Korea Challengers One: Feb. 23 to March 27
- Japan Challengers One: Feb. 26 to March 27
- LATAM Challengers One: Feb. 10 and 12, playoffs in March
- Masters One: April 14 to 29
Stage Two
- NA Challengers Open Qualifier: May 5 to 8
- NA Challengers Closed Qualifier and Main Event: May 13 to June 26
- Masters Two: July
Last Chance Qualifiers and Champions
- NA Last Chance Qualifier: August
- Champions: September
Game Changers
- EMEA Game Changers One: G2 Gozen defeats Guild X in grand finals, 3-1
- EMEA Game Changers Two: Dates TBD
- NA Game Changers Series One Open Qualifier: March 31 to April 3
- NA Game Changers Series One Main Event: April 7 to 10
- NA Game Changers Series Two Open Qualifier: June 30 to July 3
- NA Game Changers Series Two Main Event: July 7 to 10
- NA Game Changers Series Three Open Qualifier: Oct. 6 to 9
- NA Game Changers Series Three Main Event: Oct. 13 to 16
- Game Changers Championship: Late 2022, TBD
Specific dates for EMEA, Korea, Japan, and other regions have not been announced yet. They’re expected to run around the same time as the NA events, but this list will be updated once those dates are officially revealed.
VCT circuit point standings
The full VCT circuit point standings for each region can be viewed here.
Participating teams
A full list of teams that have qualified for each region’s Challengers main events will be posted here once it’s determined.
EMEA – Stage One
- Acend
- Gambit
- Team Liquid
- Fnatic
- Guild
- BIG
- SuperMassive Blaze
- FunPlus Phoenix
- G2 Esports
- LDN UTD
- BBL Esports
- Na’Vi
North America – Stage One
- Sentinels
- Envy
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9 Blue
- Version1
- XSET
- The Guard
- NRG
- Evil Geniues
- Knights
- Luminosity
- Rise
Brazil – Stage One
- Team Vikings
- Keyd Stars
- Liberty
- FURIA
- Gamelanders Blue
- Sharks Esports
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- LOUD
- TBK Esports
- INGAMING
Latin America – Stage One
- KRU Esports
- Leviatán
- Infinity
- Six Karma
- FUSION
- E-Xolos LAZER
- Border Monsters
- Ryze
- Optix
- 9z Team
- Meta Gaming
- EBRO
Korea – Stage One
- DRX (formerly Vision Strikers)
- DAMWON
- Maru Gaming
- World Game Star
- Desperado
- ESportsConnected
- Team T5
- Brimstone
This article will be consistently updated throughout the 2022 VCT season.
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Published: Feb 7, 2022 04:45 pm