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Leo Faria, head of VALORANT Esports, at the Game Changer Championship 2022.
Photo by Michal Konkol via Riot Games
Category:
Valorant

Riot remains ‘committed’ to tier-2 VALORANT with 2024 overhaul featuring year-round events and Premier

It hasn't been the easiest first year in the new ecosystem, but Riot wants to see tier two "thrive."
Image of Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson
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Published: Jun 6, 2023 05:32 pm

Fans and supporters of the VALORANT Challengers ecosystem, the second tier of the professional scene of Riot Games’ popular first-person shooter, should expect to see tier two looking substantially different in 2024.

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The 2023 tier-two season is winding down, and for only a select few teams across the world, the three Ascension events represent the last worthwhile pro VALORANT for squads at this level. But the global head of VALORANT esports, Leo Faria, promised today that next year, there won’t be so many teams looking toward the offseason already before the calendar year is even halfway over.

In a response to Bo Hoogland, a VALORANT reporter and former manager of a tier-two team, Faria confirmed there will be a “big change” next year “with an overhaul of the tier two ecosystem with competitions year-round and a strong connection with Premier.”

Related: Head of VALORANT esports confirms in-game Premier system will eventually replace VCT open qualifiers

Faria also said the details about the offseason for this year are coming, in an attempt to address concerns teams and players have about the long wait time between the end of the Challengers seasons and the start of the offseason. The offseason, officially dubbed OFF//SEASON, is seemingly set to start in September, according to a calendar on the official VALORANT esports site.

Faria said himself during an interview with the Plat Chat podcast that the OFF//SEASON was made to be purposefully long to make viewers miss watching VALORANT but acknowledged this could potentially negatively affect tier-two teams and the scene. As for 2024, Faria said Riot is actively considering either a third split or an earlier start date for Challengers.

Related: Tier two VALORANT has the passion and talent for a long future—if Riot helps it survive

People like Hoogland have brought up concerns about the sustainability of the tier-two scene, claiming there is “no reason for organizations to keep paying players to practice” without any indication of what’s going to happen during the offseason.

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Author
Image of Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson
VALORANT lead staff writer, also covering CS:GO, FPS games, other titles, and the wider esports industry. Watching and writing esports since 2014. Previously wrote for Dexerto, Upcomer, Splyce, and somehow MySpace. Jack of all games, master of none.
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