The VALORANT Champions Tour will have a new look in 2024, this time with four leagues instead of just three. The original Pacific, Americas, and EMEA leagues will now be joined by a Chinese league, made possible by the game’s release in China earlier this year.
Though Chinese teams have already appeared on an invitational basis at international VCT events, this league allows them to be fully integrated into the league’s structure, which includes tournaments, weekly games, and most importantly, franchising.
On Dec. 11, 2023, the VCT China league officially announced all 10 VALORANT teams that will be a part of the franchised league in China.
All 2024 VCT China teams
The ten teams representing the VCT China league in 2024 are:
- AG VALORANT
- Bilibili Gaming
- Edward Gaming
- FunPlus Phoenix (FPX)
- JD Gaming
- Nova Esports
- Trace Esports
- Titan Esports Club
- TYLOO VALORANT
- Wolves Esports
Unlike in the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific leagues, where most of the teams and players had a wealth of previous experience in tier one VALORANT before becoming officially partnered teams, many of the teams in the Chinese region are still relatively unknown globally.
While of course names like Edward Gaming (EDG) and FPX will stand out to longtime competitive VALORANT viewers, other teams like TYLOO VALORANT and Nova Esports are total unknown quantities.
One thing is for sure; after both EDG and Bilibili had surprise runs at VCT Champions 2023 in Los Angeles, the world has turned their attention towards Chinese VALORANT in a massive way. Players and teams from China have already shown they can go head-to-head with the world’s best. Just because some of these orgs aren’t known in the Western sphere, it doesn’t mean these players aren’t up to the task of joining the most competitive circuit in the world.
The 2024 VCT schedule is set to be similar to 2023’s format, with an introductory tournament followed by league play to determine the teams that will compete at the mid-season Masters event. This year, Masters will be held in Shanghai, as a part of the VCT’s continued effort to expand into the region.
So far, China has been a relatively isolated region in terms of competitive VALORANT, mostly because of the licensing with the Riot Games shooter title itself and issues with scrimmaging against teams from other regions. However, the new league will open up more opportunities, meaning teams in VCT Pacific and VCT China will now likely get to scrim more often, integrating even more players into the game’s growing landscape.
Published: Dec 11, 2023 09:21 pm