Four teams have secured qualification for the group stage of the 2022 NA VALORANT Champions Tour Stage One Challengers event, but there are another four slots up for grabs.
Teams like TSM, Akrew, Rise, and T1 failed to qualify for the upcoming tournament through the open qualifier, which concluded on Jan. 31. But each team will have another shot at earning a spot in Stage One Challengers One in a few days.
The remaining teams will compete in the second open qualifier, which will begin on Feb. 4 and conclude on Feb. 7. This tournament is the last chance for some of the most popular teams to qualify for Challengers or they’re out of action for months.
The second open qualifier will follow the same format as the first, with two teams from the upper bracket and two from the lower bracket set to secure qualification.
Related: Here are the 2022 VCT NA Challengers One main event teams
The group stage of Stage One Challengers in North America will include 12 teams from the region and the first eight slots have been decided. Cloud9, Sentinels, Envy, and 100 Thieves received automatic qualification for the event while Version1, The Guard, XSET, and NRG Esports qualified through the first open qualifier, which concluded yesterday.
The group stage, which will begin on Feb. 11 and conclude on March 27, follows a slightly altered format compared to the VCT circuit last year. The new group stage will follow a weekly circuit format with teams playing each other multiple times. The teams will be divided into two groups of six and the top four teams from each group at the end of March will ensure qualification for the playoff bracket.
The playoffs will follow a double-elimination format but the start date is yet to be revealed.
