Nerd Street Gamers Selected As Exclusive Partner for Stage 1 of Riot Games’ 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour and all of VCT Game Changers in North America

PHILADELPHIA, January 18, 2022 – Nerd Street Gamers, the national esports infrastructure company, announced today its partnership with Riot Games for Stage 1 of the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) in North America. Nerd Street will lead operations and broadcast for the premier tournament series kicking off the last week of January. The organization will also be running all three Game Changers series in 2022, a program with the goal of creating new opportunities and exposure for women seeking to participate in VALORANT esports, through a combination of community events and top-tier competition.

Nerd Street continues to solidify its place in the VALORANT community as the top organization in the industry, providing competitive opportunities and content since the games’ launch in Summer 2020. The company saw approximately 6,000 players compete in VALORANT in 2021, and has helped facilitate over 75  players' journey from amateur to getting signed by professional organizations. Nerd Street has worked closely with Riot Games to support an open ecosystem in their tournament series, an essential step to building sustainable competitive pipelines. In 2021, VALORANT Champions Tour and VCT Game Changers saw over 320 million minutes watched across Nerd Street’s Twitch channel.

Nerd Street helps grow the game’s talent pipeline through its gaming and esports venues, Localhost, where teams are able to access professional-grade equipment and compete in-person at top-tier Local Area Network (LAN) tournaments, an essential skill needed to become a professional gamer. For teams  that do not qualify for VCT Masters stage, or for teams that want extra practice for VCT qualifier events, Nerd Street produces its own amateur Champs series—a summer and winter tournament series that not only provides the aspiring players with a stage to continue to improve and showcase their skills, but also a stage for up-and-coming casters and hosts.

“Riot Games is an extraordinary partner, and Nerd Street is excited to continue working with a publisher that supports its games’ communities, from first time players, to fans, talent and professional teams,” said John Fazio, CEO and Founder of Nerd Street. “As an organization, we take pride in delivering top-tier services to every organization we work with, and being selected to operate VCT in its second year demonstrates the success we were able to achieve together last year.”

"We couldn't be more excited to work with Nerd Street Gamers again to bring a new season of VCT play to North America," said Bear Jemison, Head of NA/OCE VALORANT Esports. "Nerd Street has been an incredible partner and they bring a wealth of expertise, experience, and passion to their esports operations. We're confident that together, we'll build something that fans will love."

VCT Stage 1 - Challengers NA - will launch with two 128-team Open Qualifiers. For teams hoping to secure their spot in the tournament, check out the information below:

Open Qualifier 1 | January 27-30 | Registration now live!

Open Qualifier 2 | February 3-6 |  Registration now live!

About Nerd Street

Nerd Street Gamers (Nerd Street) is a national network of esports facilities and events dedicated to powering competitive opportunities for gamers. The company promotes greater access to the esports industry, laying a national framework for esports talent development and high-quality gaming tournaments. Through Localhost, its gaming and esports centers across the country, the company provides opportunities for gamers of all ages and skill levels to participate in esports tournaments, camps, team training, private events like birthday parties, and hourly play for a wide variety of video games. Nerd Street has received backing from Five Below, Comcast Spectacor, SeventySix Capital, Elevate Ventures, angel investor George Miller, and Founders Fund.

For more information, follow @nerdstreet and nerdstreet.com.

Media Contact:
Olivia Schaller
oschaller@nerdstgamers.com
(609) 351-8493