The wait is finally over! Valorant Championship Tour is back with the 6-week Challengers tournaments to determine the first participants of the Valorant Masters.
It wasn't a boring off-season. The last few weeks have brought us numerous exciting roster changes in the biggest organizations and regional qualifiers, where we have also seen some high-level Valorant gameplay. However, this "preparation season" can't last forever, so we're happy to say that Challengers tournaments are returning for all regions in just a couple of days. Check out what it will look like for NA and EMEA!
VCT Stage 1 Challengers 2022: North America
VCT Stage 1 Challengers NA will be a 12-team BO3 Round-Robin tournament, with the top 8 teams advancing to a Single Elimination playoff phase. The first games begin as soon as February 11 and will run through March 27.
Teams
NA teams could qualify for VCT Challengers Stage 1 either by being one of the top VCT Circuit points earners in 2021 (4 slots) or reaching top 4 in one of the two Open Qualifier tournaments (8 slots).
| Team | Qualified from |
| Sentinels | VCT 2021 Standings |
| Team Envy | VCT 2021 Standings |
| Cloud9 | VCT 2021 Standings |
| 100Thieves | VCT 2021 Standings |
| Version1 | Open Qualifier #1 |
| XSET | Open Qualifier #1 |
| The Guard | Open Qualifier #1 |
| NRG | Open Qualifier #1 |
| Evil Geniuses | Open Qualifier #2 |
| Knights | Open Qualifier #2 |
| Luminosity Gaming | Open Qualifier #2 |
| Rise | Open Qualifier #2 |
Prize Pool Distribution
The prize pool for VCT Stage 1 Challengers NA will be $200,000 (which is 4 times bigger than last year), and will be distributed as follows:
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $50,000 + Masters slot |
| 2nd | $32,000 + Masters slot |
| 3rd | $26,000 |
| 4th | $20,000 |
| 5th/6th | $14,000 |
| 7th/8th | $10,000 |
| 9th-12th | $6,000 |
Stream
Just like every big NA tournament, you'll be able to watch all the VCT Stage 1 Challengers NA games on the official VALORANT Twitch.tv & VCT YouTube channels.
VCT Stage 1 Challengers 2022: EMEA
Just like NA, VCT Stage 1 Challengers 2022 EMEA will be a 12-team BO3 Round-Robin tournament, but with only 6 teams qualifying to the Single Elimination playoff phase. The first games begin as soon as February 11 and will run through March 27.
Teams
EMEA teams could qualify for VCT Challengers Stage 1 either by being one of the top VCT Circuit points earners in 2021 (4 slots) or by achieving the required placement in one of the Closed Regional Qualifiers(8 slots)
| Team | Qualified from |
| Acend | VCT 2021 Standings |
| Gambit Esports | VCT 2021 Standings |
| Team Liquid | VCT 2021 Standings |
| Fnatic | VCT 2021 Standings |
| Guild Esports | EU Closed Qualifier #1 |
| BIG | EU Closed Qualifier #1 |
| G2 Esports | EU Closed Qualifier #2 |
| LDN UTD | EU Closed Qualifier #2 |
| FunPlus Phoenix | CIS Closed Qualifier #1 |
| Natus Vincere | CIS Closed Qualifier #2 |
| SuperMassive Blaze | TR Closed Qualifier #1 |
| BBL Esports | TR Closed Qualifier #2 |
Prize Pool
The prize pool for VCT Stage 1 Challengers EMEA will be €200,000, which is even more for NA. This is a nice surprise, especially since usually the prize pool for EMEA tournaments is a bit smaller, although with the way it's distributed, it actually means that the last place teams will get a little more money.
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | €40,000 |
| 2nd | €30,000 |
| 3rd | €22,000 |
| 4th | €18,000 |
| 5th/6th | €15,000 |
| 7th/8th | €12,000 |
| 9th/10th | €10,000 |
| 11th/12th | €8,000 |
Stream
Just as for NA, you'll be able to watch all the VCT Stage 1 Challengers EMEA games on the official VALORANT Twitch.tv & VCT YouTube channels.