Riot Games has announced the Valorant First Strike tournament. This will be the first series of tournaments ran by the publisher.
The Valorant Ignition series was Riot’s attempt to create a global competitive scene. Now, Riot Games has decided to host its own through the Valorant First Strike tournament.
Riot is launching a series of tournaments across North America, Asia, Europe, CIS, Oceania, Brazil, the Middle East, and Turkey.
The qualifiers will start this October. The winning team will proceed to the main competition. All players around the world may suit up and play through the qualifiers.
Moreover, the finals will take place this December. Each region will have its own champion.
However, Riot is halting any cross-region play due to the pandemic. Due to the situation, any cross-region tournaments may happen next year.
Ignition Series will still push through
According to Riot, it will continue to work with third-party organizers for some of its tournaments. This ensures that all regions have a continuous competitive scene.
That being said, Riot wants to handle major tournaments around the world. The first one is the First Strike competition.
The Valorant competitive scene is fully-packed as well due to Riot’s strategy. Just last week, G2 Valorant team dominated the European tournament.
What’s next for esports after the Ignition Series? Executive Producer @RiotSuperCakes, the Head of Global Esports John Needham, and Senior Esports Director @RiotMagus share details about the First Strike Tournament. pic.twitter.com/MsOG9KQbFa
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) September 23, 2020
Major updates coming soon
With Riot getting its hands on the competitive scene, the company announced major updates coming soon. The upcoming update will include improved spectator tools.
Riot is adding round rest features to help in competitive matches.
There are more improvements coming down the line. But Riot has not indicated all of those yet.
The Valorant First Strike tournament is expected to be an upgrade compared to the Ignition series. The qualifier details and registration are coming soon.
Featured image used courtesy of Valorant First Strike/Press Release