At long last, fans of competitive VALORANT and its tier-two scene, in particular, have finally gotten some amount of good news, with Riot Games today announcing significant changes will be coming to the Challengers ecosystem next year.
The biggest change is the pending transition to a “year-round” Challengers league, which will include league play that will take place during the tier-one offseason after Champions, starting in 2024. Riot claims the new calendar “will ensure players have continued opportunities to compete and develop their skills.” Riot will also implement a new Challengers affiliate program and loan system for tier-one teams in the international VCT leagues.
While the Challengers leagues in 2023 sparked a lot of competition and drove a lot of viewership in select markets, many fans and participants of tier-two VALORANT were vocal about their displeasure with the exceptionally short calendar of events. For many teams, their season was over before the month of June even ended, leading to numerous organizations dropping rosters with no matches to play for half a year.
Back in June, the global head of VALORANT esports, Leo Faria, promised “year-round” competition for Challengers from the 2024 season.
While details about the expanded Challengers calendar for 2024 are yet to be fully determined, one thing that’s been confirmed is the Ascension tournament will now be moved to the month of September, after the conclusion of Champions. This change should “allow it to shine even more,” Riot officials have said.
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Riot has also permitted partnered teams in the international VCT leagues to “build an affiliate relationship with Challenger League teams,” and utilize a new player loan system to “exchange players freely.” In theory, tier-one teams in VCT would be able to call up players from their affiliate Challengers league.
