EDIT: Sinatraa is, in fact, not joining Envy. https://twitter.com/GeorgeCGed/status/1470485691859615745
With VCT '22 in NA having 12 teams battle it out over 7 weeks, I want to see which 12 you guys think will make it.

My list, not in order:

Sen
C9
Envy
Rise
Xset
100T (assuming Brehze and ec1s)
T1 (assuming seven over auti)
NRG
V1
TSM (actual COPIUM overdose)
Pioneers
Gen. G

Others: FaZe roster is completely unknown, but good pickups could def get them into the top 12. LG and Akrew def could too.

December 13, 2021
VALORANT ESPORTS STAFF
Senior Editors
2022 VALORANT CHAMPIONS TOUR NA KICKS OFF IN LATE JANUARY
NA VALORANT redemption tour begins now.
The dust has settled and the champion has been crowned, congratulations to Acend! Although the victors will have their well-deserved chance at a victory lap, heavy is the head that wears the crown and there will be no shortage of challengers from our region as we head into 2022.

We’re just over a month away from North America’s finest battling it out once more, here’s what’s in store for the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour season. Additional competitive details for VCT, including circuit points and VCT Verizon Game Changers end of year event qualification, will be released early next year.

VCT STAGES, EVENTS, & KEY DATES:
VCT-Timeline.jpg

STAGE 1
VCT Stage 1 - Challengers NA - Open Qualifier: January 27 - January 30
VCT Stage 1 - Challengers NA - Main Event: February 11 - March 27

Your first taste of competitive NA VALORANT action comes at the end of January with a 128-team Open Qualifier for Challengers NA. From there, 12 teams head to the Main Event, which has been expanded from two weeks to seven weeks of play.

Kicking off on February 11, the first five weeks are a round robin competition. Weeks 6 and 7 will feature double-elimination playoffs to determine the NA representatives at VCT Stage 1 - Masters. With circuit points and a trip to Masters on the line, every match counts.

VCT STAGE 1 - MASTERS: APRIL
North America’s top players head to CLASSIFIED to take on the teams that have gotten off to a hot start around the world. With competition starting in mid-April, VALORANT Masters will grant the first shot at bragging rights on the global scale.

STAGE 2
VCT Stage 2 - Challengers NA - Open Qualifier: May 5 - May 8
VCT Stage 2 - Challengers NA - Closed Qualifier: May 13 - June 26
**Tentative Dates

Our second Challengers stage will give teams the chance to rattle cages, make some noise, and rack up circuit points as the Challengers portion of the season draws to a close.

Taking place across May and June, VCT Stage 2 - Challengers NA will mirror Stage 1’s format and is the last chance for teams to go head to head to represent North America at Masters.

VCT STAGE 2 - MASTERS: JULY
Another opportunity for international bragging rights are up for grabs in the final pre-Champs global showdown in CLASSIFIED. Taking place in the dead of summer, we’ll see which of the world's teams can stand the heat in the homestretch of the season.

The prize pool will certainly be on everyone’s minds, but not as much as the automatic berth at Champs that will be on the line.

NORTH AMERICAN LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER: AUGUST
The invite-only event is based on circuit points accumulated up through Masters 2. And when all is said and done, there will only be one.

VALORANT CHAMPIONS 2022: SEPTEMBER
The grandest stage of them all, VALORANT Champions 2022 features the best VALORANT talent the world has to offer.

NEW TOURNAMENT CIRCUIT: Q4 2022
With Champs wrapping in September, there is no offseason -- only preparation for 2023. Similar to the 2020 Ignition Series, we’ll be working with the top third-party TOs to bring fans more competitive VALORANT. Additional details to come … soon™.

VCT VERIZON GAME CHANGERS SERIES, EVENTS & KEY DATES

SERIES 1
Game Changers Series 1 - Open Qualifier: March 31 - April 3
Game Changers Series 1 - Main Event: April 7 - April 10

SERIES 2
Game Changers Series 2 - Open Qualifier: June 30 - July 3
Game Changers Series 2 - Main Event: July 7 - July 10

SERIES 3
Game Changers Series 3, Open Qualifier: October 6 - October 9
Game Changers Series 3, Main Event: October 13 - October 16

The VCT Verizon Game Changers program was a resounding success in 2021. Although Cloud9 White left little doubt they were the team to beat in 2021, 2022 will provide teams with more opportunities to dethrone them.

2022 will also culminate with the most exciting addition to the Verizon Game Changers schedule: the international Game Changers Championship. This year may have put the world on notice as to who some of the best Women’s VALORANT teams are, but this new event will crown one team with the title of the first-ever Game Changers Champion.

In addition to this slate, our partners, Galorants, will continue producing monthly VCT Game Changers Academy tournaments for Women’s VALORANT teams to hone their skills.

My b. Edited it.

It has NA in the link itself. The page opens with a massive "VCT NA 2022 ANNOUNCEMENT" graphic. Perhaps it's bugged for you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValorantCompetitive/comments/rfk9qp/the_2022_calendar_for_emea_including_vrls/
This is the calendar I was using. NA has a 5 week round robin into a 2 week double elim. EMEA has a similar timeline too, but seems to end slightly earlier. However, it may also begin earlier.

I think it will have the same format as NA: 5 week round robin -> 2 week double elim of the top 8. Maybe because it's shorter, it could be:

5 week round robin -> 1 week double elim of top 4.

https://valorantesports.com/news/2022-valorant-champions-tour-na-kicks-off-in-late-january/

Big news - 12 teams qualify from what looks like 4 days (wtf riot???) of open qualifier play. These 12 play in a 5 week round-robin, where the top 8 (not confirmed but most likely) play in a
DOUBLE ELIM bracket to send teams to Masters 1.

The 3 day open qualifier could actually be 13: Open qualifier listed from Jan 27th to 30th, but the "Main Event" only stars on the 11th of February. I refuse to believe that it's possible to select 12 teams from 128 in just 4 days with a decent format.

What does 100% suck, is that there's literally nothing else mentioned for those who fail to qualify for the top 12. No VRLs like EMEA. No VRC like EMEA either. Wonder what they're meant to do... Either way, I think 12 teams should cover most of the top talent in NA.

The lvpes valorant page is literally the Spain / Italy / Portugal regional page, too. That's amazing since their broadcast talent is very good. They have a lot of twitter presence, too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValorantCompetitive/comments/rfjo1u/vrl_northern_europe_twitter_page/

Very useful link with all the twitter pages for the National / Regional leagues! They will likely be releasing the format, teams, talent and more for each region so I recommend following them.

Well, that could actually still be the case. There's no solid info about the minor details about the system, just that it is a "league".

Challengers 1 seems to start in early Feb, and end in mid-late March. Depending on the games played per day, it could be possible to do exactly what you suggested.

They are directly invited, so they do get time until early February!

You can, but the regional leagues will only allow qualification into Challengers 2. And, only 2 slots against the best teams in all the other EMEA regions too.

It's a difficult path that doesn't allow any chance to play in Masters 1.

new format is only for EMEA, right? I heard they were planning to implement it in other regions later, but no news yet unless I'm wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTaMctMIjKQ

tl;dr - challengers becomes league. Champs teams invited (Gambit, Fnatic, Acend, Liquid). 8 teams from open qualifier start on Jan 10th. Those who fail to qual can play in national leagues, for a chance at a spot in Challengers 2, to qual for Masters 2.

THIS MEANS, the open qualifiers from Jan 10th are SUPER SUPER important, since it's the only route for teams not in Champs (G2, Vitality, FPX etc.) to make it to Masters 1. Since there are only 2 Masters events in 2022, this is literally one of two ways to get MASSIVE circuit points, and a high finish basically guarantees a spot in Champs.

Rosters should be going crazy in the next few weeks! Any orgs yet to get in, will do so in the next few weeks too.

NOTE: This format is ONLY for EMEA.

The challenger's format is a "league". They'll play against each other from February to a few weeks before Masters 1. It's currently unknown whether the league will culminate in a playoff event between the top 8 to send teams to Masters 1, or if it will simply be the teams with the highest cumulative score throughout challengers!

The bottom two will fight against the winners of the ERLs (national leagues), to select two for Challengers 2, which will follow a similar timeline until Masters 2.

Then, it's LCQ and Champs using the same point system to auto-pick 3/4 or 2/3 teams based on the result of Masters 2.

The OPEN QUALS for the 8 SPOTS in CHALLENGERS 1, starts from JANUARY 10th.

🟩 el no sabe

keep Vivo Keyd copium locked away in a deep basement elsewhere

It's a fun stat. It's also a form of validation. And finally, it's a way to see if an esport is growing or stagnating. Not the best way IMO, but the best one currently available.

For a supposedly English person, your English fucking sucks.

The mental asylum is, in fact, not your own house! It's owned by the government. Take your meds and return, please.

Qwerty69 vocabulary:
1) Bronzil DEATH THREAT
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
...
45)
46)

Damn, there's really nothing else there?

rent free. Take your meds you disabled fuck.

cringe + L + ratio + linking fortnite dances + only pussy you ever going to touch is your mom's

EDIT: take your meds and go back to the special needs section, quick.

If they win it must be done.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience! Please excuse him, his mental disability makes him incapable of using his brain, which causes sudden offensive outbursts like that which you mentioned.

I think that's a rude way of putting it. There's not much he can do about it, since he's both mentally and physically disabled.

Sorry for making this thread! I'm a caretaker for autistic children, and I seem to have lost my autistic, premature, and abandoned child! If you've seen "Qwerty69" please inform to return to the rehabilitation center to take his meds.

It's truly unfortunate that his mother took her life at first glance upon his disfigured face, but life goes on. His father is one of fifty possible men, you see. It's impossible to verify whose DNA he shares it with since about half of them are also siblings of his mother. Please do tell him to return if you've seen him!

qwerty69 try not to be a prick challenge (impossible)

Whoever wins Champs. Just look at LoL, even today people remember Fnatic won the first Worlds event.

You're 100% correct. It's impossible to tell if this type of fan reaction would be possible anywhere else since it's entirely unprecedented (outside of China, https://twitter.com/niiicolo/status/1457043751478562816 ).

Still, I think it would be possible for very popular teams.

South American fans are amazing!

One thing to note is that the video I've sent is not at a tournament stadium but at a fan watch party.

Sen definitely could. But, this specific instance was mainly due to the insane underdog run. The same thing happened with C9 in CS, when they won the Major out of nowhere - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM0S5w62cXM .

I'd go so far as to say any NA / EU / BR / LATAM team on an underdog run could definitely pull a crowd like this. Obviously, I don't think it would be possible for KR or CIS since they have no viewers. Idk about JP crowds, but the fanbase is def there too.

Go ahead!

I think it's important to more or less suck Chinese dick because that viewership is too good to give up. And, if they do get interested in the game it's almost a certainty that there will shortly be a world champ contender team created.

For 2022 it might make sense to give KR another slot, but I think the CN 2 slot thing makes more sense in the long term.

NA - 2
NA LCQ - 1

EU - 2
CIS - 1
TR - 1
MENA - 1
EMEA LCQ - 1

SEA - 2
CN - 2
JP - 1
KR - 1
OCE - 1
SA -1
APAC LCQ - 1

BR - 2
LATAM - 2
SA LCQ - 1

MASTERS Winer - 1

the "difficulty" of a multiplayer game only depends on the time the game has been out, and how many people played it.

I reckon CS may be the 'hardest' game simply because it's been around for AGES, and has been extremely popular.

Weibo
Invictus
Tales of Eastern (has been around for a long time, but idk if they're a big org)

Yeah. If it were in China, they wouldn't make that much noise for non-Chinese teams. But, they do go insane for Chinese teams - https://twitter.com/ran_lpl/status/1456985685743783941.

Same goes for parts of EU too, but I think some nations will cheer well for both sides.

If the COVID situation permits, I think there's a high chance LATAM N and S get combined, especially because of their direction towards a league-like system for 2022.

KRU gave 'em an incredible match to watch. Imagine what it would look like had they won, people would've been going insane.

https://twitter.com/FG_GonzO/status/1469898500921958403
https://twitter.com/GlobantEmerald/status/1469813670045794304
https://twitter.com/KRUesports/status/1469766336318476301
https://twitter.com/ebudy_z/status/1469789815071776775
https://twitter.com/TeamQuesoGG/status/1469813625736990726
https://twitter.com/OrdnaelGG/status/1469763336338391053
https://www.instagram.com/stories/kruesports/2726582825977830311/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/stories/kruesports/2726637157431540431/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/stories/kruesports/2726637700837040706/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/stories/kruesports/2726653403866846983/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/stories/kruesports/2726696887558468692/?hl=en

For those who don't know, there was a live watch party of the tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as a part of a "gaming festival". It's interesting to see how the crowd increased from when the match started to when it ended. Hopefully, LANs in 2022 have crowds!

Post anything I missed on this thread.

VAMOS

My brain no longer has cells. They've all gone into overtime 6 times screaming VAMOS.

1,052,123 souls crushed. Just 30k shy of Reykjavik finals. FUCK!

https://escharts.com/tournaments/valorant/valorant-champions-2021

I've lost every bit of my sanity watching this match. FUCK! For FUCKS sake. Why couldn't KRU just have won?

I'm a broken man. My soul is permanently scarred.

The highest will be once the match ends!

Every swing gets two.
Every shot hits a head
Every ult gets impact

WHAT? HOW? THIS IS INSANE! ! ! !

HE"S LITERALLY POSSESSED BY A FUCKING GOD, MAN JUST CANNOT MISS

I've lost all my brain cells already. Dropped them on my morning run! Now I just braindead shitpost, sadge.

Seriously. I think it has to do with the new stage. Not a good look for the last match before finals tbh

YOUR FUCKING TECH PAUSES AIN"T GONNA HELP GAMBIT DUMB PUSSY BITCH

KRU WILL NOT BE STOPPED!

VAMOS KRU ! ! ! !