Valorant announce First Strike series of global competitions
Published: Sep 24, 2020
Riot Games have announced Valorant’s first major championship, First Strike, on Wednesday (Sept. 23rd). The new esports tournament will be an unprecedented global initiative for the tactical FPS, that will include a set of worldwide competitions based in Brazil, North America, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Turkey, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East.
Each region will feature a series of qualifiers that will culminate with their respective regional finals. The First Strike finals are set to take place December 3rd – 6th and these will feature each regions’ top eight teams as they compete for the title of First Official Regional Champions in the game’s competitive landscape.
First Strike differs in some aspects from the Ignition Series, Riot’s first endeavour at competitive Valorant. Ahead of First Strike, Riot entered into several partnerships with esports organisations from around the world allowing for the scenario to grow more broadly. However, First Strike finals will be hosted entirely by Riot themselves, similar to what already happens in League of Legends.
Whalen Rozelle, Senior Director of Esports at Riot Games revealed some details:
“Valorant is an extremely competitive game that has worldwide appeal. The game has the necessary elements to become the main esport of the scenario. First Strike will provide our thriving competitive ecosystem with the ideal platform to demonstrate all the talent in the community, create regional legacies and build a foundation that will support eSport for years to come”.
Anna Donlon, the Game’s Executive Producer, also spoke out:
“Esports remains one of the best investments we can make to support our community in the long term. As we have already noticed in the Ignition Series, there is a great demand and need to raise Valorant to the level of professional competition. So we are very excited to be able to start walking this path with fans, players and organizers. For the development team, helping the Valorant competitive landscape is one of the main priorities, and we are committed to this journey”.
Featured Image Credits: Riot Games
