This is a crucial week for Valorant esports as Riot Games will reveal which teams will make the partnership league in EMEA, Americas and Pacific. Stay up to date with all the latest news about the regional leagues.
Just one day after Valorant Champions 2022 came to an end and set a new viewership record, the rumor mill is already in high gear with speculation about the partnership league that will be the cornerstone of the game’s esports circuit moving forward.
On the Valorant Champions broadcast, John Needham, Riot’s President of Esports, spoke about the upcoming Kickoff tournament in São Paulo, which will feature all 30 partner teams, and what the community can expect in the near future. Needham said that the names of the teams that will make up the three regional leagues (EMEA, Americas and Pacific) will be announced this week.
The regional leagues will be held in a LAN environment in Los Angeles, Berlin and Seoul, with two splits held per year. However, during the first year of this new circuit, the Kickoff tournament will replace the first split, with the winner crowned in early March. The second split will begin in late March or early April.
Below you can find all the details and the latest rumors about the partner teams in each of the three regions. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
EMEA
According to reports from Blix.gg, KOI, Karmine Corp, Fnatic and Vitality have secured four of the ten spots available in the EMEA partner league.
Of the four, only Fnatic were represented at this year’s Valorant Champions. The team finished in 5th-6th place, losing to DRX in the lower bracket quarter-finals.
KOI, a Spanish organization founded by popular streamer Ibai Llanos and FC Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué, are reportedly joining the LEC through a deal with Rogue. KOI reportedly spent $20 million to acquire 60 percent of Rogue’s spot in Europe’s premier League of Legends’ competition.
Americas
More details about the teams making the Americas league are expected to come in the next hours, with organizations like LOUD, the winners of this year’s Valorant Champions event, OpTic Gaming, 100 Thieves and Sentinels all believed to be in the running for spots in the ten-team league.
Pacific
Asian giants DRX and Paper Rex are both rumored to be vying for spots in the Pacific league. Meanwhile, BLEED Esports have ruled themselves out of the running, revealing that they did not apply for a spot due to “an ongoing mergers and acquisitions deal”.
However, the Singaporean organization then noted that they will still be involved in the league “one way or another.”
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