Riot Games is drastically changing the rulebook before the first VALORANT Champions Tour season featuring promoted Ascension teams has ended. The publisher is offering teams who qualify through Challengers and perform at a high level a chance to stay in the VCT international leagues.
The new rules, which go into effect in 2025, reduce the promotion length for Ascension teams in VCT from two years to one year. But instead of getting automatically relegated at the end of their term, teams can stay in the league or earn an automatic spot in the Ascension tournament if they perform well enough in the VALORANT international leagues.
Starting in 2025, Ascension teams who qualify for VALORANT Champions by finishing in the top four in their international VCT league will extend their time in the top-tier league by another season. If an Ascension team finishes top eight in their league but not top four, they’ll automatically earn a place in that year’s Ascension tournament, thus earning a chance to regain their spot in the VCT. Ascension teams who finish outside the top eight get relegated to their respective Challengers leagues.
A few unique situations can occur in 2025 with two Ascension teams per league. If both Ascension teams qualify for Champions, the team that performs best at the event gets the guaranteed spot, while the other has to compete in Ascension. Two new teams will be promoted if both Ascension teams finish outside the top eight.
There’s no threat of relegation this year for the current Ascension teams in G2, Gentle Mates, Bleed Esports, and Dragon Ranger Gaming. All four teams will be back in the VCT in 2025, along with four new Ascension teams. Each international league will remain capped at just 12 teams going forward; the original plans for Ascension and promotion had each league featuring 14 teams by 2026 between the 10 partnered teams and four teams on different stages of their two-year promotion window.
Later this season, Challengers leagues will also begin promoting teams directly from the VALORANT Premier mode’s Invite Division.
