According to Nerd Street and a news post from Riot, Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #4 Xeppaa Erick Bach v1c Victor Truong Zellsis Jordan Montemurro penny Erik Penny OXY Francis Hoang , Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #7 Reduxx Yassin Aboulalazm johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid Kyu Mirel Braco Hrustemovic cortezia Gabriel Cortez JonahP Jonah Pulice , ENVY ENVY North America Rank #5 Eggsterr Evan Grady P0PPIN Matteo Weber Demon1 Max Mazanov Rossy Daniel Abedrabbo keznit Angelo Mori , and 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #3 Cryocells Matthew Panganiban Asuna Peter Mazuryk vora Jordan Pulwer Timotino Timothée Lavigne Dupont bang Sean Bezerra will receive direct invites to the Stage 1 Challengers main event.

The four teams finished in the top four of the North American rankings following the conclusion of Valorant Champions. Of the four teams, only 100 Thieves did not attend Champions after a defeat at the hands of Cloud9 in the NA LCQ lower bracket final.

Tournament play for the open qualifier will take place from January 27 - January 30. The main event will begin the week after, beginning on February 11 and concluding on March 27. Additionally, Neon—Valorant's newest agent—will be playable in the tournament.