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Riot Games recently announced the addition of two new Challenger Leagues, Italy and Portugal, as part of Valorant's EMEA esports ecosystem expansion plan.
These Challenger Leagues, previously known as Regional Leagues, are set by Riot themselves to promote esports in those regions and provide a platform for local talent.
Riot Games previously announced the VCT 2023: EMEA Partnership program where ten teams from the EMEA region became franchised under VCT. These sides will contest the upcoming VCT 2023: EMEA International League.
Everything fans need to know about Valorant's new Challenger Leagues
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As per the recent announcements, VCT is moving ahead with two new regions in their Challengers League of tournaments. Professional esports talent from Portugal and Italy will now compete in their respective regional leagues.
Upon qualifying in these tournaments, they will be able to contest in the Challengers Ascension. Victory here will secure a spot in the International League.
Both regions were previously part of the Regional League Spain: Rising in 2022. However, from 2023 onwards, both of these regions will have their own leagues allowing local esports athletes to showcase their talent and skills on the big stage.
As mentioned in the VCT blog, they had to say the following about the Italian region:
"The fan interest is there, and streamers have also begun capitalizing upon this, too, helping to grow the VALORANT community in the region. We feel that the natural next step is in offering the nation their own Challengers League, allowing us to facilitate this growth further and tap into a nation with immense potential."
Similarly, Portugal is another region to be added as part of their expansion plan. Its inclusion was followed by a note:
The region has been a focal point for VALORANT since launch and has a high population of FPS PC gamers and esports fanatics. All of this, coupled with an already well-developed amateur esports scene, makes the country the perfect place to develop the next generation of esports professionals.
Both regions have shown massive growth and popularity recently in the competitive scene and as a result, Portugal and Italy will now be getting their own leagues.
What are VCT: Challenger Leagues?
Challenger Leagues in VCT used to be known as Valorant Regional Leagues. Established within the VCT ecosystem, these leagues allow players to move up from their respective regions and enter the Challenger Ascension. From that stage, a team from each of those regions will move into their international league
There will be a total of 23 leagues will post this announcement. Portugal and Italy belonged to the Southern European League, where the two regions competed alongside Spain.
However, with time, more regions could be added to the current list of leagues.
Who are the tournament organizers in Portugal and Italy?
Inygon and Goatpixel will be Valorant's partners in Portugal. Inygon has been conducting League of Legends Portuguese ERL for over five years and is also assisting in Portugal’s VCE alongside Goatpixel.
PGEsports will be the Italian Tournament Organizer. It has been assisting Riot Games in conducting League of Legends Italian ERL since 2018.
Riot Games has been promoting esports in several regions and is constantly evolving. With two Champions events conducted so far, they are headed into 2023 with an entirely new format and numerous additional regional leagues in their bags.
