Riot releases details on 2022 VCT and Game Changers tournaments

Riot Games has released the plans for the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour, which will feature competitions in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Game Changers is also getting a global competition, something fans and players alike have been waiting for. The Game Changers global tournament will take place at the end of 2022, according to a graphic released by Riot.

There will be a new format for 2022 VCT, including fewer Challengers and Masters tournaments, and a Champions tournament that takes place earlier in the year -- in September, according to the same graphic.

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The format for these tournaments is also changing. Instead of multiple weekends of open qualifiers, there will be just one open qualifier that will lead to multiple weeks of play between the top teams. The top teams in each region at the end of each stage will once again qualify for international Masters competitions.

There will also be a new tournament added between VCT seasons. Riot plans to work with third-party tournament organizers to create a “lineup of new events that will allow for both existing, and new players to showcase their talents,” the press release said.

The events will not overlap, but it is also not clear exactly what these tournaments will look like, or where they will be held.

Based on the graphic provided by Riot, it looks like the Challengers events will start in February and March followed by a Masters event in April, then more Challengers events in May and June with a second Masters taking place in July. The Last Chance Qualifier will happen in August with the culmination of those events, VCT Champions, taking place in September.

The new tournaments run by third-party organizations will take place between October and December.

Image credit: Riot Games

There have been no details announced about the format of the Game Changers tournaments. This year, there were three NA Game Changers tournaments, but no final tournament like Champions. Next year, the Game Changers participants will get the chance to compete internationally, but details on qualification have not been released yet.

There is also no clarity on the format for the NA Challengers events. The new format is designed to create more competition between the top teams in each region, but how Riot will achieve that will likely be specific to each region, and the details for that will come at a later date.

Lead image credit: Riot Games