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LEC-style Roadshow under consideration for VALORANT? Major Outtakes from VCT EMEA 2025 Roundtable
Over the weekend, VCT EMEA saw a successful conclusion to its 2025 season with Team Liquid lifting the Stage 2 trophy after a closely contested series against GIANTX in the Grand Finals. With preparations now mounting for the grand finale to the VCT Season – Champions Paris 2025, thoughts begin drifting towards the upcoming 2026 VCT season and beyond.
Strafe Esports had the opportunity to attend a roundtable session during the final days of the 2025 VCT EMEA season along with fellow journalists of other media outlets to present questions to Daniel Ringland (Head of VALORANT Esports EMEA), Jonathan Tilbury (Head of VCT EMEA), and Tomek Borowka (Esports Product Manager). The session included reflections on the achievements and successes of the 2025 season, questions looking to future seasons, and potential features for VCT EMEA to adopt in the future.
*The following session has been lightly edited for readability
Drawing Inspiration from 2025 LEC Roadshow
Strafe Esports: We’ve seen a lot of value and success with the LEC roadshow this year, with the league travelling to both the arenas of Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp, and those teams hosting respective game days there. With the biggest benefit from this being a strong encouragement for audiences to root for their home teams and the grassroots support, is this something VCT EMEA would like to explore in the future?
Jonathan Tilbury: We’re always talking to our LEC colleagues because with both of us running different products, we want to share learnings and kind of discuss what’s working for them, what’s working for us. One of the nice things about doing 2 shows out of Berlin is that we can both kind of test and experiment with different things.
We’re really impressed with what they’ve been doing and obviously, it’s been really successful for them. It’s definitely something that we’d love to explore in the future if the opportunity was there. Because VALORANT can be a bit more technically challenging to product an event due to the nature of the game.
One of the things we want to do with VALORANT is create that really strong coordinated calendar experience worldwide. Obviously you know, for us to go and do something like that, we have to work very closely with the teams. We’d have to make sure there’s venue availability in that moment. It takes a long time to plan something like that.
And at the moment, it’s probably just a bit early for us to kind of commit to doing something like that now. We’re kind of more in the ‘test and learn’ phase, but it’s definitely something that as we think about the future, as we think about what VCT looks like in 2-3 years from now, we can definitely factor that into the vision and see if there’s a place for it.
Sustainability of the EMEA Challenger Leagues
The Spike: This year we’ve seen a reduction (and merges) in the EMEA Challenger Leagues sub-regions. Compared to last season, did you see any benefit to that decision and are you seeing any trends towards perhaps increased competitiveness or increased regional viewership due to those mergers happening?
Tomek Borowka: Starting from 2025, what we did is introduce the new Challenger EMEA leagues that has turned out to be really working well for both fans and teams and also players. So, we actually surveyed the players about like, what do you think about the new tournament, and we talked to the teams and there are really, really good numbers coming back in terms of the feedback. They say they agree it’s more competitive. They agree there’s more visibility across the board.
The beauty of this new tournament format is not only have we created it hand-in-hand with the TOs in 2024 – that was an outcome from a workshop we held here – but that it is also a product which is licensed to the TOs. It’s basically their thing to broadcast and to accumulate that viewership.
To your point on the number of Challenger Leagues, I think the reduction probably helped fans to follow the competition a little bit better and what we see is a really competitive field. If you look at which teams played in Stage 1, 2, and 3, it’s been a very diverse mix and that just shows that the pool of talent is really, really deep and so, that’s what we love to see.
Daniel Ringland: Just to add to that, I think one of the other benefits of concentrating the number of Challenger leagues is that it aligns with Premier mode and how that game works. And that’s unlocked some really cool things for teams and fans.
So, thinking in Turkey, for example last year, we had a team go from Premier mode into the Turkish Challenger League that ended up here at Ascension. They almost went from Premier mode to the VCT. That is such an incredible pathway. But to be able to make that happen, we needed to make sure there was alignment between Premier and the Challenger Leagues. So, that’s kind of one of the benefits that’s come from the concentration.
Sheep Esports: Do you value the sustainability of Tier 2 or is it meant to be more amateur leagues, considering especially with Ascension in VALORANT. I think it’s important to have a sustainable Tier 2 ecosystem for Tier 1 to flourish.
Tomek Borowka: It’s a very big priority for us and the latest push which we just announced, to increase Ascension from 6 to 8 teams hopefully also shows that we are really committed to providing an opportunity for teams. Not only a sustainable path, but also a way to climb up into VCT EMEA. So, overall, what is very important for us is that we talk to our partners, the tournament organizers, who in turn talk to all the teams to understand what the pain points are.
Based off of that, this is something we are aware of the sustainability issues, which is a concerning factor for Tier 2 teams. It think its fair to say that for 2026, it’s something we’re already looking to attack. Unfortunately, right now, there’s nothing more I can reveal, but it’s something we’ve been very actively working on.
Sheep Esports: Does the reduction of leagues and teams help with that sustainability goal Riot is aiming towards?
Tomek Borowka: Yeah, I think overall probably the answer is yes, because there is a more condensed pool of very high performance teams, and I think this year is a prime example where we see that. I have no idea who’s going to win Ascension. And I think in the past, based on hearing Reddit posts and comments, where fans say there’s too many leagues and too many teams and all that.
That’s something where again, we don’t forcefully intend to cut it down, but there were many factors like Premier, like talking to our partners and saying, “how can we create the best of both worlds” and that’s where we ended up. I think overall for 2025, I feel we’re in a good spot, but we know that there’s room to improve for sure for 2026 and onwards.
Jonathan Tilbury: From a Tier 1 perspective, we definitely talk about this. We care very much about that because one of the things we’re proudest about with VALORANT is that global parity that we have between regions. And obviously, that is dependent on us having that sustainable talent pipeline. So, if we don’t make sure that exists, then the thing that I think we are most proud of will slowly erode over time.
Multiple Products, Packed and Oftentimes Conflicting Schedules
Esports.gg: One of the things the community is up in arms about now are the conflicts in schedule between League of Legends and VCT EMEA. With Game Changers Rising coming soon, what systems will be in place to alleviate scheduling difficulties between all these products?
Daniel Ringland: So, we never want to put fans in a position where they need to choose between two things that they want to watch. But at the same time, fans are always wanting more games, more competitions, etc. Those things are literally at odds with each other.
So, we try to schedule things as much as possible to that there’s no overlap. With Challengers for example, we don’t have Challenger league games taking place on the same day as we have VCT. Because if you’re a fan that really loves the Turkish Challenger League, you’re probably going to want to watch that and also BBL playing. And if they’re at the same time, that’s not ideal.
But as well, there are some operational constraints as well to consider. So, thinking of the broadcast partners, like our Spanish broadcast partner, they run both the Challenger League and operate the Spanish broadcast for the VCT. It’s extremely difficult for them to do these things at the same time.
So yeah, it’s kind of a balancing act between wanting to make sure we avoid as much overlap as possible but knowing that some is inevitable. And we also wouldn’t want to constrain the amount of competition we have to avoid an overlap, for example not launching a new product like Game Changers Rising because it would create an overlap. We’re comfortable with some level of it.
VCT EMEA Format Revision?
Breakflip: As a French fan, I didn’t see a lot of my team this year. Not saying it’s your fault, but for next year, are you considering a revision of the format?
Daniel Ringland: I think when you look back at the last few years of VAL, you can see that we’ve tweaked the format quite a lot. Every year has been different in some way, shape, or form. Again, with format, it’s a number of different trade-offs that we need to balance.
Some fans want to watch lots and lots and lots of games. And some fans want to see fewer games with higher stakes. So, there’s a tradeoff we need to do there. We’re always looking at the format and trying to perfect the balance. At the moment, we’re working on what changes we would make to 2026. We don’t have anything to share just yet, but we don’t feel we’ve quite nailed the balance yet.
Tomek Borowka: Hopefully as well, you might see more French teams playing in Project Blender, which we will have in Q4. So, we really try to provide more opportunities for any team to play, whether that is an amateur team, an influencer team, a Tier 2 team, a Game Changer team, or a VCT team.
Whether Gentle Mates wants to play in that, I think that’s up to them. But yeah, we as a team, we look at what are the opportunities in the official season, but then also how can we create more opportunities throughout the year, and that’s really where I think Project Blender comes in this year and hopefully, provide French fans with some more games.
Jonathan Tilbury: I think finding the right format is probably the hardest part of our job. It’s the bit that probably keeps most of the esports product folks at Riot up late. There are so many factors that go into finding a format that works the most. And so, for me, it’s kind of like an iceberg. Like 10% of those things are above the surface and fans can see them and really understand them. And probably 90% of them sit below the water and they’re things that you know, fans are never going to think about, because they might be production constraints or things like that.
With VALORANT, you know our vision is obviously quite grand. We’re really trying to build a global sport and that can make it challenging to find the balance between the different layers of competition and to Ringland’s point, we’re probably still tweaking that balance and finding the right place.
But it’s a really difficult thing to kind of land on – that right format. And I think we would all agree that we haven’t got to the right place yet. It’s something that’s probably going to take some more time and some more learning until we find it.
The Future For Game Changers: Integration into the Larger VCT Ecosystem
Strafe Esports: Game Changers is obviously a wonderful platform for new and upcoming players who want to compete at the highest level. However, it’s performance view-wise is not on par with let’s say Tier 1 VALORANT. So, is there a different measurement of success for that league and in the future are there plans for Game Changers to have better integration into the rest of the VCT ecosystem, for example Game Changers teams playing in the VCT leagues?
Tomek Borowka: That’s a great question. First of all, who is Game Changers for? Why do we build this for players who play in Game Changers right? So, viewership has never been one of our main focus areas. However, it’s great to see that the current 2025 members are trending way above what we have seen in 2024.
We built Game Changers first and foremost for the players. There is a platform for them which allows them to compete is a safe space, in a safe environment, but also to accelerate them and provide a very inclusive pathway to grow.
With that being said, I think what we have launched in the past is that the GCC winners, they have chosen to play in the promotion tournaments. We’ve seen teams taken that opportunity (G2 in the Dach league 2024) and we continue to see more and more of those developments which is really good. We see there are absolutely players and teams in Game Changers who want to take the next step, and I think our job is really to build the ecosystem in a way to allow for more of those opportunities. I think Project Spotlight in 2024 was a great success With the Blender Spotlight this year, we want to again, incentivize the mixed gender players and I think this is the next step.
Hopefully in a few years’ time we can say yes these were the steps we took. I don’t think it’s a process we can or should force. We’re committed to Game Changers and we’re in this for the long run. Among the efforts we’ve made are having a former pro player consulting with us to give us those angles we don’t understand, as well as having sessions just like we did the other day with season 2025 players to ask them questions.
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Featured Image Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games
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