The 'WePlay! Valorant Invitational' is the next major step in developing the game's professional scene

Riot Games’ latest first-person, tactical shooter Valorant is yet to witness its esports scene take off. However, the upcoming smaller tournaments are expected to lay the foundations for the competitive future of the game.

With a whopping prize pool of $50,000, the WePlay! Valorant Invitational is going to be the next big step for Valorant’s esports scene.

The WePlay! Valorant Invitational is going to be one of the latest additions to the list of tournaments in this period, making it quite an exciting time for the professional scene of the game.

We all knew it should happen!Please, meet our first event in cooperation with @riotgames - WePlay! VALORANT Invitational! From July 13th-19th, eight strong teams will fight for a $50k prize pool! Don't miss it!Read more: https://t.co/0rrxO12ze1@PlayVALORANT #WePlayVALORANT pic.twitter.com/lb8yWjivAf

— WePlay! Esports | #WePlayVALORANT (@WePlayEsport) July 7, 2020

There are 6 teams who have already been invited to this European event, and they are:

1. G2 Esports

2. forZe

3. Fish123

4. Ninjas in Pyjamas

5. Team Prodigy

6. Party Parrots

Currently, these six teams have received an invitation to the tournament, and the other two teams will have to fight their way through the Open Qualifiers to earn a spot in the invitational.

The tournament will be held next week from the 13th of July to the 19th of July, and the qualifier rounds will have around 128 teams facing off against each other in best-of-one matches.

Joe Ziegler, who is the game director of Valorant, said:

“Understanding of the game is still evolving, and there’s plenty of room for new and exciting ideas to take the stage. The Ignition Series is definitely setting up a standard of play for VALORANT, the likes of which we’ve never seen before, and will undoubtedly begin to influence competitive audiences in their decisions around play.”

Hence, the WePlay! Valorant Invitational is expected to be an S-tier tournament. Having said that, the tournament organisers have received a bit of backlash from the gaming community because of the teams that were snubbed. Team Fabriken and NeedMoreDM were not a part of the tournament's invite list, and this angered many fans.

How is Forze one of the best teams?And where is Fabriken and NeedMoreDM??? pic.twitter.com/lWr43R6qIy

— Fłąmįę (@Flametornado11) July 7, 2020

Nevertheless, this invitational is indeed a very big deal.

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WePlay! Valorant Invitational Format

The Open Qualifiers will take place on the first two days of the tournament, which is the 13th and 14th of July. 128 teams will have to pre-register before the 13th and then face off against each other in single-elimination brackets of best-of-one games.

The main event will see 8 teams going head-to-head in the group stages from the 15th to the 17th of July.

Only 4 teams will advance to the playoffs, with the Group Stage winners directly seeding into a single-elimination bracket. The semifinals will be held on July 18 and the Grand Finals will take place the next day.