Riot Games has revealed how the 16 slots at Valorant Champions 2023 will be filled, with China sending its biggest contingent of teams in the history of the game.
The 2023 Valorant Champions Tour will culminate in Valorant Champions, the biggest event of the year in Riot’s FPS title. After stops in Berlin and Istanbul, this time it will be Los Angeles hosting the prestigious season-ending championship tournament, with 16 teams in attendance.
As Riot Games revealed on the final day of VCT LOCK//IN, Valorant Champions 2023 will be held between August 6 and 26 across two locations in Los Angeles. The early rounds will be held at the Shrine Auditorium, while the latter stages, featuring the last four teams, will be played at the Kia Forum.
The biggest surprise in the slot allocation for Valorant Champions 2023 is that China will send three teams to the event – the largest Chinese contingent in international Valorant history.
This highlights Riot Games’ commitment to developing a strong Valorant scene in China, where the game has not been officially released but is playable.
The VCT leagues in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas will each be represented by at least four teams, three determined by the league standings and one by the last-chance qualifiers.
The final slot will go to the winning region of VCT Masters Tokyo, which will take place from June 11-25. In theory, China could get a fourth slot at Champions if either EDward Gaming or Attacking Soul Esports wins the event in Tokyo, but this was not made clear by Riot Games in its announcement. Dexerto has reached out to Riot Games for clarification.
Valorant Champions 2023 slot allocation:
VCT Americas: 3 slots
VCT EMEA: 3 slots
VCT Pacific: 3 slots
China: 3 slots
VCT Americas LCQ: 1 slot
VCT EMEA LCQ: 1 slot
VCT Pacific LCQ: 1 slot
Winning IL/Region of Masters: 1 slot