Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Since Riot Games released its first-person shooter Valorant earlier this year, there have been dozens of esports tournaments and competitions held. However, there haven't been any officially held by Riot themselves. That is, until now. Valorant: First Strike will be the first official Riot Games-produced tournament and starting next week, the field will open up to 128 teams for the opening qualifiers.
There's a $100,000 USD prize pool at stake in the Valorant: First Strike tournament, which will be produced in conjunction with the team at Nerd Street Gamers. The competition will begin next Monday, October 26 with 128 teams. At the end of Friday, October 30, only 16 teams will remain. Those teams will advance to November and four of them will earn the right to compete in December's Valorant: First Strike finals. A second open tournament is set to take place on Monday, November 11 and run until Friday, November 15. At the end of that week, 12 teams will advance to the next tournament and compete until only four remain.
The Valorant First Strike Event will run from December 3-6. That's where the eight remaining teams will compete for the $100,000 USD prize pool.
Here are the major dates to remember:
One of the big esports stories of 2020 has been major organizations ramping up for the Valorant competitive circuit. This is the first official Riot tournament, but it will certainly not be the last. Look for teams like the Sentinels (whose roster includes former Overwatch League MVP Sinatraa) to enter looking to make an impression and win some big money. Catch all of the action live on the Valorant YouTube and Twitch channels.