Riot Games has officially revealed the names of all 30 Valorant teams who will be partnered with the company for the next five years of VCT. These teams will be working closely with the company from 2023 to 2028 to create the best possible esports experience for Valorant's global audience.
It wasn't long ago when Riot Games disclosed its plans for the next five years of Valorant esports. The existing VCT format will be replaced by an entirely new one, which will see 10 teams from each of these regions — Pacific (APAC), Americas, and EMEA — compete in a league format.
List of 30 partnered teams announced by Riot Games for VCT International Leagues
The VCT International Leagues in each of the three regions — Americas, EMEA, and Pacific - will comprise of 10 teams each. The list of franchised teams includes a few fan favorites, along with some familiar faces and some new entrants.
Here are all the teams partnered with Riot Games for VCT 2023:
Americas
- Sentinels
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9
- NRG Esports
- Evil Geniuses
- FURIA
- LOUD
- MIBR
- KRU Esports
- Leviatan
EMEA
- Fnatic
- Team Liquid
- Team Vitality
- Karmine Corp
- Team Heretics
- Giants Gaming
- NAVI
- FUT Esports
- BBL Esports
- KOI
Pacific
- ZETA DIVISION
- DetonatioN Gaming
- Gen. G
- T1
- DRX
- Team Secret
- Paper Rex
- Rex Regum Qeon
- Talon Esports
- Global Esports
In addition to these three international leagues, Riot Games has also confirmed the arrival of tier-2 league structures called Challenger Leagues. These leagues will be spread across all regions.
A total of 21 Challenger Leagues will provide regional competition from all parts of the world to amplify their success by fighting for a spot in the Challengers Ascension tournament.
New teams will be promoted to the international leagues every year based on their performances in the various Challengers Leagues and the Challenger Ascension tournaments.
A new in-game competitive system is also set to arrive before the 2023 season starts. This will allow players to seamlessly connect the game to its esports ecosystem and get their shot at becoming a professional Valorant player.
Each of the 30 teams that have partnered with Riot Games will be given a yearly stipend by the company, which is rumored to be a six-figure amount.
With Riot's financial aid and by removing the risk of relegation, each of the partnered teams will have an opportunity to fight for the title of Valorant Champions.