Valorant announced major changes in VCT Challengers in Asia Pacific (APAC) for 2024. It will have 5 Challengers leagues starting later this year. Check out all the details below.
Following Riot Games' recent announcement outlining several big ecosystem changes for Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Challengers worldwide, they wanted to spotlight the Asia Pacific and explain how these changes will affect its regional leagues.
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New League: VCT Challengers Southeast Asia
Riot Games has announced a significant change in which its Challengers leagues are matched with their respective Premier Zones. This entails the consolidation of Southeast Asian markets into a single league for APAC. Included in the affected markets are Indonesia, Malaysia/Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan/Hong Kong. Therefore, the APAC region will have a total of five (5) Challengers leagues that will commence later this year.
Before Premier launched, Valorant structured its Challengers across six (6) separate leagues in Southeast Asia. Its goal was to foster sustainable, thriving VALORANT esports ecosystems in each of its markets.
While Valorant has made progress towards that goal, it realized that to launch the APAC competitive scene into its next stage of growth, it needed to make changes to its structure.
Starting in September 2024, Valorant will consolidate its efforts on one regional league, VCT Challengers Southeast Asia (SEA).
According to Riot Games, their hope is that by narrowing their focus and operating more efficiently, they can improve the overall quality of the tournament for Valorant teams and fans across the region.
The qualifications for Challengers SEA will be determined by the results of Split 2 of this year for teams that are presently competing in the affected markets. The Challengers SEA format will seed the winning teams alongside the best Premier teams. Direct slots are available to the top-ranked teams, while the remaining Challengers Split 2 participants will be placed in the Invite tier of Premier to compete for a second chance at qualifying.
Growth Opportunities for the SEA Community
Riot Games anticipates that VCT Challengers Southeast Asia will generate beneficial outcomes for all members of its community.
Challengers SEA will offer a more premium platform that is specifically tailored to international matchups for professional teams. Riot is enthusiastic about the prospect of witnessing the evolution of the standard of competition as teams begin to evaluate their abilities beyond their typical domestic pools.
Riot Games can now directly construct a more transparent path-to-pro through VALORANT with the integration of Premier, thereby providing a chance for new players and teams to enter the VCT ecosystem. Teams that achieve success at Challengers SEA will not only be acknowledged as the best in their respective markets but also as the best in the Southeast Asian region as a whole.
Riot Games is confident that VCT Challengers SEA will be an even more engaging and entertaining tournament to watch and engage with as a result of the increased stakes. Fans can anticipate more compelling broadcast value and thrilling international matchups.
Valorant said to its partners that a unified Southeast Asian league represents a more meaningful, stable product to work with in the long term.
Extending VCT Challengers Calendar in APAC
Valorant will also be expanding the Challengers calendar to three splits this year as part of their commitment to sustainability. They have listened to the community and acknowledged the necessity of an evergreen format that provides teams and players with additional stability and time to refine skills and compete.
The final split of Valorant after Ascension will be initiated this year. This is also the time when they will formally integrate Premier teams into their Challengers leagues throughout APAC.
VCT Challengers Split 3 2024 APAC Overview
Valorant's partners in APAC will soon reveal the Split 3 formats, so be on the lookout for their announcements. Riot Games will initially unveil only a few high-level details regarding each league, such as the process by which teams in Southeast Asia can qualify for the inaugural VCT Challengers Southeast Asia split.
The participating teams in this split will be vying for a spot in the Challengers' Split 1 of the upcoming year.
Challengers Southeast Asia
Dates*: October - December 2024
Total Teams: 16 total
- 12 teams from Challengers Southeast Asia leagues (Indonesia, Malaysia/Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan/Hong Kong)
- The top 2 teams from each Southeast Asian league currently active for Summer Split will qualify for Split 3.
- 4 teams from Premier Episode 9
- 1 team from Act 1
- 3 teams from Act 2
Challengers Japan
Dates*: October - December 2024
Total Teams: 16 total
- 4 teams from Challengers Japan Split 2
- 12 teams from Premier
- 4 teams from Episode 8 Act 3
- 4 teams from Episode 9 Act 1
- 4 teams from Episode 9 Act 2
Challengers South Korea
Dates*: October - November, 2024
Total Teams: 16 total
- 8 teams from Challengers South Korea Split 2
- 8 teams from Premier Episode 9
- 4 teams from Act 1
- 4 teams from Act 2
Challengers South Asia
Dates*: September - October, 2024
Total Teams: 14 total
- 8 teams from Challengers South Asia Split 2
- 2 teams from Premier Episode 9
- 1 from Act 1
- 1 from Act 2
- 4 teams from Open Qualifier
Challengers Oceania
Dates*: October - November 2024
Total Teams: 16 total
- 8 teams from Challengers Oceania Split 2
- 8 teams from Premier Episode 9
- 4 from Act 1
- 4 from Act 2
*Dates are subject to change. Please check official Challengers league announcements from Valorant's regional partners for the latest information.
Via Riot Games
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