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Riot Games Announces Valorant Partnership League Teams

Riot Games has announced 30 Valorant teams, which will be partnered with the international leagues
by Tit Krajnik on September 21, 2022   

After weeks of speculation, Riot Games finally came forward to announce the names of the teams that will be taking part in the new Valorant international leagues in the 2023 season. Notably, the list does not include some of the world’s top esports organizations.

 

According to Riot Games, the selection process for the partnership program was incredibly competitive, and it included three stages: a written application, in-depth interviews, and financial reviews. Moreover, all the organizations that applied for the partnership program had to tick three boxes:

  • Organizations who share our values of always putting fans first, celebrate our diverse community, and are committed to supporting pros
  • Organizations who have created a strong connection with fans through engaging content, a compelling brand, and an exciting roster
  • Organizations who build for the long-term, with a focus on sustainability


However, despite explaining the process, many Valorant fans were left wondering why some of the top-performing teams haven’t made the cut. Some of the most notable esports organizations that have not appeared on the list of partnered teams include G2 Esports, FunPlus Phoenix, and the VALORANT Champions 2022 finalists, OpTic Gaming.
 


Riot has responded, stressing that while they respect and celebrate past competitive performance, those were not the key factors in their decision. Instead, Riot focused on picking partners that showed the ability to create the most compelling VCT experience.

“It’s worth addressing directly that while we respect and celebrate past competitive performance, it was not a key consideration in our decision - as we instead focused on an organization’s ability to create the most compelling VCT for fans in the future,” read the announcement.

The VCT regional leagues will be the cornerstone of the game’s esports scene moving forward, hosting LAN events in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Seoul, with two splits per year. Notably, the first season will start with the Kickoff Tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil in March, marking the start of a new Valorant competitive era.

Below are all the teams that organizations and teams that have secured a spot in the partnered league.

Americas

Americas league will welcome names from Brazil, North America, and South America, including Sentinels and the reigning VALORANT Champions 2022 winners, LOUD. Notably, the Americas league will not include OpTic Gaming and G2 Esports, with the latter likely being denied a spot due to the recent controversy involving G2 CEO Carlos Rodriguez and Andrew Tate.

  • Sentinels
  • Cloud9
  • NRG
  • KRU Esports
  • Leviatán
  • LOUD
  • FURIA
  • MIBR
  • 100 Thieves
  • Evil Geniuses

EMEA

The EMEA Valorant league will feature some of the region’s top teams from this season, including Fnatic and Team Liquid, and new faces in KOI and Karmine Corp. However, like the Americas league, the EMEA will now see the return of a major squad from the past season in FunPlus Phoenix.

  • KOI
  • Karmine Corp
  • Fnatic
  • Vitality
  • NAVI
  • Team Liquid
  • Team Heretics
  • BBL Esports
  • Giants Gaming
  • FUT Esports

Pacific

The Pacific league will see an interesting mix of teams hailing from countries within the Asia-Pacific region. Notably, Gen.G and T1, who previously competed in North America, moved their operation back to Asia to participate in the newly formed league, where they’ll join the likes of ZETA Division, DRX, and Paper Rex.

  • Gen.G
  • T1
  • ZETA DIVISION
  • DetonatioN Gaming
  • Talon Esports
  • Team Secret
  • Paper Rex
  • DRX
  • Rex Regum Qeon
  • Global Esports


The 2023 Valorant season will kick off in February 2023 with an international tournament in Sao Paulo.

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