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Riot has announced the official events and dates for the VALORANT OFF//SEASON, allowing tournament organizers to experiment with format.
After the season concluded withLOUD taking the World Championshipback to Brazil, the attention quickly turned to the offseason. With a five-month break and massive roster changes with the partnership system incoming, fans were left wondering if Riot would finally announce the third-party events that have been teased since 2021.
In anofficial Riot press release, those looming questions have been answered. Riot announced 25 events taking place across all three major regions lasting the entire VALORANT offseason.
Riot allowing tournament organizers to experiment with format
The events will consist of many different formats and players, as Riot has committed to giving partnered esports organizations free rein to experiment. This includes content creator-geared events, pick-ban formats, and agent drafting. In North America alone, four out of the five events will include irregular formats, displaying Riot’s intention to test out different tournament structures ahead of the season.
Nonetheless, Riot is building an ecosystem not solely centred around partnered teams. It’s an opportunity to expand outside the hyper-competitive VCT events and focus on the fun aspects of the game. More importantly, these events will give VALORANT fans content to survive the offseason.
Moreover, does the question then become which approach will work best for fans? North America is the only region running different formats, while Europe and Asia are more geared towards open competitions and bringing together tier-one teams. It’s a good chance for Riot to learn more about their audience and deduce which formats work and which ones don’t. Regardless, variety in the makeup of the event will make for compelling and unique entertainment.
25 Offseason events across all three regions
In total, 25 events will populate the globe: eight events in the Americas, nine in APAC, and eight in Europe. The third-party events will run from October 1st all the way up through January. The main difference, outside of differing formats, is the number of show matches across the regions.
For example, APAC has a disproportionate amount of region vs region crossover, unlike EMEA or the Americas. Europe, on the other hand, has the highest concentration of pro-player-focused events with Red Bull Home Grounds and the G-Loot VALORANT Clash. While North America, as mentioned previously, is more focused on experimenting and running open brackets with the popular Knights Arena VALORANT Freezeout.
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Esports.gg Editorial Team
Clearly, the mix of different types of events will give every fan of VALORANT something to look forward to. It’s a great opportunity for prospective players, organizations, and tournament organizers to show Riot their commitment to the game and help it grow past the franchise structure. It’s huge for tier-two as well, giving players another outlet outside theAscension tournaments.
In addition, we seeBrazilget a number of events along with Latin American countries. We also see the return of VLRs in Turkey and theDACHregion. Riot has a little bit for every type of fan.
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