VALORANT Episode Eight, Act Two will be the first Premier act to put an opportunity to play in Challengers and forge a pro career on the line, something Riot Games has long been wanting to implement into its competitive seasonal mode.
Teams that qualify for Premier Contender, the top division of Premier in VALORANT, will have the opportunity to earn a spot at their respective region’s Challengers Promotion and Relegation events. By running the Contender gauntlet, Premier teams will be given a chance to take a Challengers spot from an established Challengers team.
For those wanting to start their path-to-pro journey, they’ll need to form a team of all Immortal Three players or higher to guarantee a spot in Premier Contender. Premier registration for Episode Eight, Act Two opens on March 5, and while teams can technically sign up for Premier throughout the season, the soft deadline is March 13, with the first match window scheduled for March 14.
By finishing “near the top” of their Contender division, Premier teams will qualify for the May Promotion and Relegation Event. According to the VALORANT esports global team, a minimum of two spots will be up for promotion in every Challengers league, though there may be more depending on the region. This is not guaranteeing two Premier teams will be in every Challengers league but rather that there will be at least two spots up for grabs that Premier teams can claim, likely in matches against Challengers teams risking relegation.
The path-to-pro system from Premier to Challengers to perhaps VCT is still an evolving one, but Riot has been talking about implementing Premier into the pro player pipeline for what feels like over a year now. In the near future, it’s possible that all Challengers teams will have to play through Premier to reach the official regional leagues.
