VALORANT: this is how the LATAM competitive season will be organized in 2023 | eSports | video games | Season 2023 | DEPOR-PLAY

Not everything is League of Legends. While gamers were keeping an eye on the changes to the 2023 MOBA season, VALORANT shared the first details of the eSport of Latin America.

“Leviathan and KRÜ are in the new VCT Americas against the best on the continent, but the local action continues with the other teams and players from our region. VALORANT Challengers will continue to be the hotbed of new talent and from here new challengers will emerge who aspire to reach global competitions. Review the format of the VALORANT Champions Tour here”, details Riot Games on the official blog.

By 2023, two different leagues will be organized:

• VALORANT Challengers Latam North x ACE
• VALORANT Challengers Latam Sur x FiRe

Each of the Challengers will have six teams that will seek their qualification to the VCT Americas Ascent Tournament (Ascension).

OPEN QUALIFIERS

Free registration open tournaments for up to 64 teams in each hemisphere. The top four teams from the Open Qualifier will advance to the Closed Qualifier. They will face each other in direct elimination format and all the matches will be Bo1.

Key dates:

• Records from December 21 to January 6.
• The competition starts on January 21.

CLOSED QUALIFIER

Closed eight-team tournament. Four teams arrive from the Open Qualifier as indicated in the previous point and four teams are directly invited based on their performance in previous seasons and their evaluation as high impact and potential organizations. The top two teams from the Closed Qualifier will advance to the Challenger League. They will face each other in a double elimination format and all the matches will be Bo3.

• Invited teams North:
• Border Monsters, Skull Cracker, RETA and Team Cruelty
• South invited teams:
• VELOX, Movistar Optix, EBRO Gaming, Oxen
• Key dates:
• The competition starts on January 28 and ends on February 2
• Broadcasts for the lower and upper bracket finals, last two days of competition.

CHALLENGERS LEAGUE

Closed six-team league. Two teams arrive from the Closed Qualifier as indicated in the previous point and four teams are directly invited based on their performance in previous seasons and their evaluation as high impact and potential organizations. They will face each other in Round Robin format, round trip to the best of 3, plus a playoff stage that will be played by the four best teams.

Each of these Leagues will have two competitive seasons. The teams will accumulate points during the year to be the best in their region and qualify for the VCT Americas Promotion tournament. At the end of the competitive schedule, the lowest ranked team in each league will be required to participate in a Promotion/Relegation process to preserve their spot.

Invited teams Challengers League North:

• FUSION, E-Xolos LAZER, Six Karma and 19esports

Invited teams South Challengers League:

• 9z, Furious, INFINITY and All Knights

Key dates:

• Season 1: From February 27 to March 31
• Season 2: From April 25 to June 11
• Broadcasts for all matches.

The Challengers Leagues will have a total prize pool of USD 160,000 for all of Latin America, which will be distributed among the best teams and will include a new prize for the MVP of each season both in the North and in the South.

This will be Game Changers in 2023

The women’s competition continues to grow with the support of thousands of agents in the region. After the good results of the year 2022, we present the improvements for this ecosystem in 2023, which include more prizes, more broadcasts and a league format to continue developing the female talent of LATAM.

With the aim of continuing to professionalize the scene and develop talent we will have:

• New partner to run the Game Changers competitions: LVP, a partner that will support the investment and development of the scene with its extensive experience in esports competitions.
• New competition format: From Tournaments to League! Both the North and the South will have 6-team Leagues to have a more regular, stable and formal competition. Each league will be broadcast in its entirety, increasing the visibility of Game Changers in our region.

Teams invited to this new format will be announced soon, and so that everyone has a chance, other teams will arrive through the traditional Open Qualifier and Closed Qualifier as we will detail later. The best team from the Game Changers Leagues in each hemisphere will advance to the LATAM Grand Final, where our international representatives will be defined again.

• More prizes: We increased the loot for the best Game Changers in Latin America by almost 300%, going from USD 24,000 in 2022 to USD 70,000 in 2023. Greater incentives for a talent potential that continues to grow!
• More competitions: For the squads that do not reach the Game Changers Leagues, we will have three open tournaments during June, August and September that will allow them to continue training and developing female talent. Soon we will communicate more information about formats and prizes. No one is left out of growth!

In detail, and with key dates for you to prepare your records, we will have:

OPEN QUALIFIERS

Free registration open tournaments for up to 32 teams in each hemisphere. The top four teams from the Open Qualifier will advance to the Closed Qualifier. They will meet in a double elimination format and all matches will be Bo1.

Key dates:

• Records from January 2.
• The competition starts on January 23 and ends on January 29

CLOSED QUALIFIER

Closed eight-team tournament. Four teams arrive from the Open Qualifier as indicated in the previous point and four teams are directly invited based on their performance in previous seasons and their evaluation as high impact and potential organizations.

They will face each other in a double elimination format and all the matches will be Bo3. In each hemisphere, the top two teams from the Closed Qualifier will advance to the corresponding Game Changers League.

Invited Closed Qualifier Teams:

Key dates:

• The competition starts on January 30 and ends on February 5
• Broadcasts on February 4 and 5

GAME CHANGERS LEAGUE

REGULAR PHASE

Closed six-team league. Two teams arrive from the Closed Qualifier as indicated in the previous point and four teams are directly invited based on their performance in previous seasons and their evaluation as high impact and potential organizations.

They will face each other in a round robin Bo3 round robin format. At the end of the year, and after accumulating points in the two seasons that we will have, the two best teams in each hemisphere will advance to the Playoff stage.

Key dates:

• Season 1 from March 5 to April 13
• Season 2 from May 30 to July 27
• Broadcasts on every game day

At the end of the competitive calendar, the lowest ranked team in each League must participate in a Promotion/Relegation process to preserve their place.

Guest Teams Game Changers Leagues:

LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER

After the two seasons and also in each hemisphere, the teams that rank 3rd to 5th yearly will advance to their respective Last Chance Qualifier, either North or South.

The squads will compete in a Round Robin format, one way, with Bo3 series. The two best teams will advance to the Playoffs of each hemisphere, joining those classified from the Regular Phase.

Key dates:

• It will be played from August 29 to 31.
• Broadcasts on every game day

PLAYOFFS

In both the North and the South, two teams from the Regular Phase and two teams from the Last Chance Qualifier meet to define the champion of each hemisphere.

They will face each other in a double elimination format with series to the Bo5 and a final between the best teams. The champion will advance to the LATAM Grand Final.

Key dates:

• It will be played from September 5 to 21
• Broadcasts on every game day

LATAM GRAND FINAL

The best team from the North and the best team from the South meet in a face-to-face series at the Bo5 for the crown of the region and the presentation in the World Championship.

WHERE TO WATCH THE BROADCASTS AND FOLLOW THE COVERAGE

Game Changers broadcasts will take place on the traditional channels of VALORANT Esports Latin America, and its coverage can be followed from the main esports account for the VCT in LATAM:

Listen Dale Play on Spotify. Follow the program every Monday on our available audio platforms.