Riot Games announced the first esports series for their immensely popular 5v5 title Valorant.
While there have been a few fan-organised online tournaments, Riot Games has announced the first official esports tournament for Valorant. The announcement was brought to the public via Whalen Rozelle and Kasra Jafroodi, two prominent devs on the Valorant team who are, in their own words, “focused on building VALORANT into the next global esport.”
Riot Games has partnered with over 20 esports organizations across the world to create dedicated Valorant events. Each organization dotted across the map in 11 regions will bring it’s expertise to the table to add their unique twist to the Valorant’s Ignition Series. The events will take place in North America, Brazil, Latin America, Korea, Japan, South East Asia, Oceania, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East.
Valorant’s unique gameplay formula has attracted the perfect blend of casual gamers who just want to blow off some steam with their friends and a fair share of professional players who master each and every tactic of the game. Keeping in line with this harmonious balance, players can expect to see combination of competitive open qualifiers, show matches, and invitationals featuring top players of the game, established personalities, and aspiring amateurs from partnered organizations.
The first two events of the Ignition series will are announced already. G2 Esports will handle the first event of Ignition series in Europe from June 19-21 while Rage will handle the event in Japan on the same dates. “We are ready to open the VALORANT Ignition Series and continue the success of the G2 EU Brawls in an all-out entertainment-filled invitational,” Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of G2 Esports, said.
Since it’s public release in early June, Valorant has witnessed a continuous rise player base and viewership across the globe. The addictive 5v5 competitive title is expected to completely take over the esports scene soon and there have been a few significant developments to suggest the same. The most notable development being Sinatraa’s retirement from San Franciso Shock to compete for a Valorant team for the Sentinels. The major league player, the MVP of the Overwatch League, announced his plans way before there were any official Valorant tournaments, proving Valorant’s potential as to compete with the big titles such as CS: GO and Dota 2.
Riot Games’ proven track record of delivering the top-notch esports title such as League of Legends and their commitment towards making Valorant a global phenomenon can quite likely result in Valorant becoming the most prominent Esports title in the upcoming years, surpassing the classics such as CS:GO.