How is Valorant's upcoming Premier Mode expected to work?

Valorant will soon welcome the much-anticipated Premier, a tournament-like alternative to the existing ranked format. As per Riot's recent Dev Diaries announcement, the developers are planning to launch the new esports-nurturing game mode and a slew of new content later this year.

In 2022, Riot shared their concept of an in-game competitive mode that can bridge the gap between the existing Ranked matches and professional esports. The developers could shape the idea into an early representation, which was Alpha tested in a restricted group in November.

Fans can expect Premier's global launch in one of the upcoming Acts or the next Episode. However, the developers will host a global testing phase before officially deploying the mode to Valorant. For those unaware of Valorant's Premier and its features, this article includes a summary of what is known so far for your convenience.

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Everything we can expect in Valorant's upcoming Premier mode

Premier won't replace any existing in-game experiences in the tactical shooter. It will be an alternative mode for those who want to participate in highly competitive tournament-like matchups against top teams in their region.

This mode will feature much higher contention than Valorant's existing Ranked games. Instead of the usual rank rating, ranks, and MMR, dominating in Premier will help you nurture your dream of becoming an esports star from the comfort of your home.

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How will Premier work in Valorant?

For starters, a player must create a fulfilled team before being eligible for Premier. You can join forces with your friends in the game and person or other players you can convince to create a roster.

Valorant will provide a system in which one can create a team with a name and a logo, along with players to validate it.

Once a Premier team is created, it will be placed in a Division with several competitors. Your team will be eligible for a season's worth of multiple pre-scheduled matches and tournaments, which will last a few weeks.

Participating and winning will garner your team points. Upon crossing a threshold, your team will qualify for the Division Championships, the final phase in the season where the ultimate champion of a Division is declared.

Riot Games hasn't yet mentioned a Premier-exclusive ranking system. However, it was earlier announced that top Premier teams will get a chance to prove their worth in the respective domestic leagues, indicating that a special format may be integrated into the mode.

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What did the erstwhile Premier Alpha stage feature?

As per the official announcement for Premier Alpha in 2022, Riot Games tested the following key features of the upcoming mode in Valorant:

• Team creation (with team logos and colors)
• Server load
• Tournament play (including a map pick-and-ban system)
• Premier Score (and qualifying for the end-of-season tournament)
• Matchmaking and queue health throughout the Alpha
• General bugs
• and more.

All features mentioned above, including an official tournament-like experience, will be included, giving every player a chance to compete in a professional environment. And on October 26, 2022, Riot Games mentioned in a press release that the mode wasn't tested in its final form.

"In its current state, Premier is about 60% of all the planned features and functionally, but there are whole features that are absent in the current Alpha."

Evidently, the upcoming global testing stage for Premier will include newer features directed at providing more esports prospects and improving player experiences.