Riot Games has revealed its plans to further the growth of VALORANT, which starts with the introduction of a new VCT Challengers circuit.

Starting next year, Riot Games will be expanding Challengers to cover more players in more regions. Additionally, teams that start in Challengers will have a pathway into the international leagues, and eventually even global events. This system will surface the up-and-coming stars through a fully connected ecosystem with larger events, new tournaments, and high stakes.

The new Challenger ecosystem will encompass more than 20 leagues around the world, ensuring every VALORANT player has a path to realize their competitive dreams. These Challenger Leagues will provide highly organized competitions that begin with open qualifiers and ladder the best teams into two splits of multi-week regular season play.

Each Challenger split will culminate in a playoff tournament where a single team will be crowned as that league’s champion!

Riot Games will also introduce Challengers Ascension, which is a new event series that will crown the best team in respective territories. Teams who secure victory at the three Challengers Ascension tournaments will earn a spot in the following year’s international league.

Each year, international leagues will expand by one team, until hitting a cap of 14 teams in 2027. Teams who win Challengers Ascension will earn a two-year promotion into their territory’s international league. Promoted teams will have the opportunity to prove themselves against the international league teams during the VCT season, receive similar league benefits, and an equal chance to qualify into Masters and Champions.

VALORANT is shaping up to be one of the fastest rising competitive titles around and Riot Games is ensuring that players all around the world can participate and take their shot at the big leagues.