Valorant esports regional leagues to reportedly have 8-10 teams each

Riot Games is building on the Valorant esports scene next year - reports suggest that regional super leagues will feature up to 10 partnered teams each

Valorant Regional Leagues 2023 report: An image of three Valorant pros in red and black jackets
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Valorant esports is about to get a lot bigger – well, if the latest rumours and reports are to be believed, anyway. Riot Games’ foray into the tactical shooter genre burst into esports in the first half of 2021 with First Strike and has since proven to be a fantastic addition to the esports scene as a whole. Now, though, Riot Games is taking that inevitable next step – according to reports from Dot Esports – and creating a partnered, region-based league system akin to League of Legends’ LEC and LCS competitions.

According to the Dot Esports report, “several prominent teams across the world have been in contact with Valorant developer Riot Games regarding the partnership system for next year”. This system would see five leagues of eight to 10 teams partner with Riot Games for a competitive esports system similar to what fans have seen from Riot Games with League of Legends’ LEC and LCS. So similar in fact, that Dot Esports claim that the initial details “parallel” the two League of Legends’ leagues.

Much like the LEC and LCS provide League teams with a way to get into League of Legends’ Worlds championship, it’s expected that these partnered Valorant leagues will operate in a similar fashion to the Valorant Challengers competition – by providing teams with a pathway into Valorant Masters and Valorant Champions.

Dot Esports’ sources claim that Riot Games held a meeting with team owners and management about the new partnership system being implemented, but hasn’t divulged any more details. Pay for the partnered teams is likely to be “in the six figures” too, but two of Dot Esports’ sources claim that this isn’t going to matter to the top teams due to higher operating costs.

Valorant’s partnership league system was announced back in April 28 and is due to kick off at some point in 2023 – at the moment, there are plans to launch North American, Latin American, Brazilian, European, and Asian regional leagues.

If this has got you in the mood for competitive Valorant, you can check out our guide to the Valorant ranks here – and everything you need to know about Valorant crosshairs right here.

Kyle is a Staff Writer at The Loadout with over two years of experience in the industry. He covers everything from Call of Duty and Apex Legends to Assassin's Creed and Starfield. With an MA in Creative Writing, he has more than enough to say when it comes to new releases like Mortal Kombat 1 and FC 24. However, he also jumps at the chance to talk about upcoming releases like Alan Wake 2 and Star Wars Outlaws. When he isn't doing all this, though, he's almost always trying to main the objectively worst character in every videogame he plays.