The Top Valorant Tournaments in 2023: What is the Biggest Event?

When Valorant was first released in 2020, it was built with an esports ecosystem in mind. It took less than a few weeks for the game to explode in popularity and take over the gaming world. Valorant is one of the leading esports titles today, boasting valuable tournaments and more talent than you can shake a stick at. Today, we’re looking at the top Valorant tournaments to look forward to in 2023.

Out of all Valorant tournaments, only a few make the ‘S-Tier’ cut, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole host of events out there to be considered. From the biggest Valorant tournament to the most minor, there’s a far-reaching ecosystem that spans from the smallest grassroots events to the multi-million dollar competitions. If you’ve wondered, ‘what is the biggest Valorant tournament’, look no further than this list. Are you ready?

Valorant Tournaments 2023 Schedule

Valorant, the winner of the “Best Esports Game” award at the Esports Awards 2022, is starting 2023 off with a bang. The biggest of these enhancements was the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), which was introduced in 2021. The VCT is Riot’s self-organized, year-long process that includes international tournaments across multiple leagues. For the past two years, the biggest goal for all teams competing on this stage has been to win tournaments in this process.

For 2023, Riot Games has decided to make big changes to the VCT. The company decided to switch to a partnership system for this large ecosystem and establish three major leagues in three different regions: EMEA, Americas, and Pacific. These leagues will feature 30 teams, with 10 teams in each.

Introducing a new order to the competitive arena has paved the way for different organizations to emerge and organize their own events. The 2023 season starts soon, but it’s exciting to see all the Valornant tournaments have already been announced.

VCT 2023 LOCK//IN São Paulo (Feb 13 – Mar 4)

Image credit: Valorant Esports / Riot Games

For the first time in VALORANT history, a VCT season will start with an international tournament. This tournament will be no ordinary event. Organized by Riot Games itself, LOCK//IN São Paulo will take place in São Paulo, Brazil, home to some of the most passionate fans in the world.

What makes this event so special is that 30 teams from only 3 partner leagues will compete in the tournament. The teams have built rosters, with some of Valorant’s best players, with the partner status they’ve earned, and these star-studded teams will face each other for the first time in this tournament. This will certainly be one of the biggest Valorant tournaments of the year.

VCT 2023 International Leagues (Mar 26 – May 28)

All eyes will be on the headline International Leagues of 2023. 30 partner teams will compete offline in their respective leagues:

• VCT 2023: EMEA League will be based in Berlin, Germany.
• VCT 2023: Americas League will be hosted in Los Angeles, USA.
• VCT 2023: Pacific League will be based in Seoul, South Korea.

Valorant operations of the partner teams must be in the city of the league they will compete in, as these matches are expected to be open to the audience. The leagues, featuring the best teams in Valorant, will be played in two splits. The first split will start in March.

Split 1, which will last about 2 months, will start with the regular season, where 10 teams will play each other. The best 6 teams will qualify for the playoffs of their region. The top three teams of the playoffs will qualify for the recently announced VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo. The region that wins LOCK//IN São Paulo will send 1 extra team to the first Masters event of the year.

VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo

Image credit: Valorant Esports / Riot Games

In years gone by, there were some regions that stood out for some of the things they accomplished. LATAM with its surprise wins and success in global tournaments, South Korea with its systematic play, and Brazil with its championships. In a completely different way, Japan has been one of the standout countries in the arena thanks to the love and passion Valorant players in the country have for the game. With their insane viewership figures, participation in offline tournaments and likeable teams, they have managed to rise to the top of VALORANT.

With all these realities coming together, it’s no surprise that Riot Games has decided to host the first Masters tournament of 2023 in Tokyo. While details about the tournament have yet to be announced, we know it will start in June. With the top three teams from the International Leagues and the fourth team from the region that won the LOCK//IN tournament, Masters Tokyo will host 10 teams.

VCT 2023 Challengers Leagues

In addition to partner teams, there are countless esports clubs that will compete in the VALORANT ecosystem. The teams that will not be able to take part in the International Leagues will show themselves in the Challengers Leagues. Teams such as TSM, G2, BIG, Version1, which we have heard their names frequently in the past seasons, will also take their place in Challengers Leagues. Challengers Leagues will also consist of two splits.

There will be a total of 23 minor regional leagues around the world. The list of these is as follows:

VCT 2023 Ascension

Ascension will make its debut with the new season. This tournament, which is similar in structure to last year’s Challengers Finals, is of greater importance. The best Challengers teams of the regions will qualify for the Ascension tournament, which will be held at the end of the year in their respective major territory. The winners of these tournaments will win slots in the VCT 2024 International Leagues.

In VCT 2022, there was no such league system in regions outside of EMEA. Instead, teams would compete in qualifiers held at certain times to try and qualify for bigger qualifiers. This will allow more players to compete in professional matches on a regular basis. In addition, not every team’s dream of being in the big leagues will be lost.

VCT 2023 Game Changers

Image credit: Valorant Esports / Riot Games

It’s clear that Riot Games is putting a lot of emphasis on the Valorant women’s arena. Since the first day of Game Changers, there has been a steady progression in the system and the quality of the events. In addition, the community’s perception of female players is also improving every day.

The 2023 season is set to continue this good trend. Particularly in the EMEA region, where G2 Gozen won the VCT 2022 Game Changers Championship.

The new EMEA VCT Game Changers circuit will feature a 16-team league. Teams will qualify for the league based on their performance in regional events that will place them into the Game Changers EMEA: Contenders series. The series will also have an open qualifier portion, and the top team will earn a spot in the main league.

The top four teams from 2022 will get a direct invite to the Game Changers EMEA league. The top teams from the EMEA league will then get the chance to represent the region at the Game Changer World Championship, which will continue in 2023.

Riot also announced more games Changers initiatives under the Contenders series and main league. The developer is launching VCT Game Changers EMEA: Emergents, which is an in-house competitive Discord community that will feature leaderboards and rewards for female players.

If you intend to bet, know the schedule

Knowing upcoming Valorant events is important for those interested in Valorant betting as it allows you to stay informed about the competitive landscape and make informed decisions when placing bets. Betting volume on Valorant has increased in recent years. According to Rivalry, the title is poised to break into the top 3 esports betting titles (CS:GO, League of Legends, and Dota 2).

Having this information enables you to track the performance of teams, analyze the current form of players, make predictions about the potential outcomes of matches, and understand the reasoning behind bookmakers’ Valorant odds. This can increase the chances of making a profitable bet and improve the overall betting experience.