A new foundational part of the VALORANT esports ecosystem is set to be fully-added to the game soon, which will give players an opportunity to build a team and compete across a season of scheduled matches.
The new mode, called Premier, will pit pre-made teams of similar skill levels against each other within a division. During a season that will take the form of weekly matchups and tournaments, teams will compete toward an end-of-season tournament to crown a division champion.
Competing teams will be able to pick out their own team logo and colors, and will even be able to make use of map pick-and-ban systems during tournament play. There will be 20 skill divisions within a single regional zone, based on a team’s average MMR.
Eventually, Premier will be the foundational entry point for VALORANT esports’ path-to-pro pipeline, and will even replace VCT open qualifiers altogether.
Related: Head of VALORANT esports confirms in-game Premier system will eventually replace VCT open qualifiers
Speaking of, you’re probably wondering when the full launch of Premier is. Here’s all the information we could find on when the Premier mode in VALORANT comes out.
When does Premier release?
A second open beta phase for Premier, titled the Ignition stage, will start on July 11 and will test some new features including team creation improvements, region-specific match schedules, a new playoffs format, and the ability to see live scores during playoff matches.
Related: VALORANT Premier match times have players wishing Riot offered more flexibility
The second beta will have a longer, week-long registration period from July 11, with weekly matches beginning July 20 and culminating in a final playoff tournament on Aug. 13. During registration, players can create or join a team of five to seven players, then select the zone they want to compete in, which determines servers and opponents.
Premier will still launch in full in Aug. 2023, after VCT Champions 2023.
