Riot announce major changes to Valorant EMEA esports: Regional leagues, VCT, more
Lance Skundrich, Riot GamesRiot Games’ inaugural Valorant Champions Tour has exceeded expectations, and the company are already looking to expand EMEA’s esports scene in 2022 with regional leagues, VCT changes, and much more.
In the wake of a mind-blowing Valorant Champions Tour, it’s clear that Riot Games’ flagship FPS has cemented itself as one of the world’s premier esports.
With the EMEA-dominated final between Acend and Gambit shattering the game’s peak viewership record, all eyes are on Europe following an incredibly dominant showing throughout the event.
It turns out that the European, Middle Eastern and North African scenes will be undergoing some big changes in 2022, and they’ll have fans of competitive Valorant on the edge of their seats. Here’s everything you need to know.
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Michal Konkol, Riot GamesValorant EMEA Regional Leagues (VRL)
Ahead of 2022, Valorant’s EMEA scene will introduce all-new Regional Leagues. Inspired by sister title League of Legends, the eight new competitions are set to kick off on January 24, 2022.
Each league can be found below, as well as the regions that can compete:
| League | Regions |
| Spain | Spain, Portugal, Italy |
| France | France, Benelux |
| UK, Ireland & Nordics | UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland |
| Poland | Poland, Israel |
| CIS | Russian Federation |
| MENA | Arabia, North Africa |
| Turkey | Turkey |
| DACH | Germany, Austria, Switzerland |
An open qualifier will determine which teams qualify for the regional finals, with the remainder of the season proceeding as follows: “At the end of stage one, the winner of each VRL will qualify for the VCT Promotion Tournament. In stage two, each VRL winner will then qualify for the VRL EMEA finals.”
VCT changes
Following Riot’s inaugural VCT, VCT EMEA Stage One will see some changes to the competitions’ pool in order to ensure that “all the localised territories in the wider EMEA umbrella to grow and maintain a healthy level of competition.”
“The four EMEA teams that participated in Valorant Champions 2021 will be invited back to VCT Stage One in 2022,” Riot noted. “A further eight spots will be up for grabs through two open and closed qualifiers in each territory; four spots in EU, two from Turkey and two from CIS.
“Teams will be able to qualify to VCT Stage Two through the VCT promotion tournament; where the winners of the eight VRLs in Stage One will compete to face off against the bottom two VCT teams, with two VCT spots on the line.”
Riot GamesValorant Game Changers EMEA & Game Changers Academy
Launched all the way back in February of 2021, Valorant Game Changers seeks to provide players of “marginalized genders” a place in the spotlight. With the project soaring throughout 2021, EMEA will see Game Changers return in 2022.
Split into three series in January, May and September, it’ll also be accompanied by the all-new Game Changers Academy. This is split into six new tournaments, and offers a “safe space” for fresh faces to take their first steps onto Future Earth, Valorant’s universe.
So that’s everything we can expect coming into Valorant EMEA’s 2022 competitive circuit. To keep up with all of the latest Valorant esports news, be sure to check out our dedicated page.
