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VCT 2024: Kickoff tournament, Format, Schedule and more
The inaugural season of the new International Valorant Leagues concluded with Valorant Champions 2023. We saw thirty teams competing throughout the year with the top 16 teams qualifying for Valorant Champions 2023. With the season over, Riot Games has announced the format, teams and schedule for the upcoming VCT 2024 season.
Leo Faria, the Global Head of Valorant Esports, about the new VCT 2024 says:
“We’re extremely proud of what we accomplished this year, in particular how our teams stepped up to promote the sport and their players, and we’re eager to unlock more opportunities in 2024 to highlight the best in the game. We’re making changes to the season design and scope of our events for better progression, expanding our global footprint, and creating new ways for players and fans to experience VALORANT.”
Let's take a look what VCT 2024 has in-store for us.
Introduction of VCT China and Ascension Teams
The biggest change for VCT 2024 comes with the introduction of VCT China. An International League based in China with 10 partnered Chinese organizations and a promoted team via VCT China Ascension. With the inclusion of China, we will now have 4 International leagues.
The complete list of teams that'd be part of VCT China 2024 can be found here. Additionally, China will also host the second Masters of 2024 with VCT Masters Shanghai 2024.
Three more teams that won the VCT 2023 Ascension tournament in their respective region will participate in VCT 2024. These three teams being;
- VCT Americas 2023 Ascension Champions - G2 Esports (former The Guard core)
- VCT EMEA 2023 Ascension Champions - Gentle Mates
- VCT Pacific 2023 Ascension Champions - BLEED Esports
With these three teams and the VCT China teams, all the teams playing the VCT 2024 will be as follows:
VCT 2024 Format and Schedule
The season officially starts with a region-locked International tournament, with the four leagues hosting a two-week tournament starting February 16th to shortlist the eight teams (two from each league) playing VCT Masters Madrid. The Kick-Off tournament will be the qualification tournament for the first International masters of 2024.
Kick-Off tournament format:
The kickoff tournament will feature all the eleven participating teams. Each region will seed these teams according to their 2023 performance. These eleven teams will be split into three groups; two groups of four teams and a single group of three teams. These groups are named A, B and C respectively.
Every regions 1st seed will be placed in the group C and will recieve a bye in the first round, thus needing a single win to qualify for the playoffs. The winners of Group A and B will join Group C winners in the playoffs. The runner-ups from each group will play each other in a round-robin format, with a single team qualifying for the playoffs. The single elimination playoff will give us the top two teams from each region.
As mentioned previously, these eight teams will play VCT Madrid 2024. The regular season for International Leagues will kick-off early April 2024 after the conclusion of VCT Masters Madrid. The regular season of the four international league will be split in two.
The second masters, VCT Masters Shanghai will follow the conclusion of Stage 1 of International leagues. Three top teams from each league will qualify for the VCT Masters Shanghai 2024 scheduled for May 2024.
The Stage 2 of International League will start following the conclusion of VCT Masters Shanghai. The top three teams and one team based on championship points, for a total of four teams from each league will qualify for the Valorant Champions 2024. The Seoul, South Korea will likely host the event which is set for August 2024.
What are Championship points?
A big change in the format of VCT is the missing LCQ. Instead Riot has introduced the Championship points system. These points will measure a teams' performance throughout the season. Their addition is “to heighten the crescendo of the season."
A team will receive a single point for a win and three points for winning regional kickoff, Masters events and regional Playoffs. These points will help one team from each region to qualify for Valorant Champions 2024.
We have already covered the changes in the Challengers previously.
VCT 2024 Schedule
- February 17 - March 2: VCT Americas Kickoff
- February 17 - March 2: VCT Pacific Kickoff
- February 20 - March 2: VCT EMEA Kickoff
- February 22 - March 2: VCT CN Kickoff
- March 14 - 24: VCT Masters Madrid 2024
Does the new VCT address the criticism of VCT 2023?
With a much broader look available, it does seem VCT 2024 will have a longer season. The season will feature two splits. With VCT Master Shanghai separating the two tournaments.
Despite the two splits, the schedule seems intensely packed, with teams competing for something each month until the conclusion of Valorant Champions.
Riot is especially vigilante about the challengers, the new challengers will be spread out. The inclusion of in-game mode Premier and a promotion tournament indicates Riot's plan for development of talent in T2 and T3.
The new format does not answer the intense schedule but it offers a smoother qualification process for International tournaments. The international tournaments will feature teams that have the most championship points.
These championship points in turn reflect the team's performance throughout the season. This is still a very general look for the season, the detailed one will likely answer the questions in detail.
Follow Valorant Champions tour Twitter for all Valorant Esports updates.
Stay tuned on Strafe for further information on VCT circuit.
Featured Image Credits: Riot Games // Valorant Champions Tour
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