VALORANT developer Riot Games has reached out to several tier-one esports organizations regarding the possibility of partnering for the planned international league system next year, multiple sources told Dot Esports.
Riot has informed these teams that there is a formal application process that owners must agree to complete to ensure a slot in the league. Riot will get to decide the final teams from across all major regions that will compete in the international leagues.
Several major organizations in North America have started to submit an expression of interest to Riot to partake in the application process.
The application process will begin this month and continue through June, according to two sources. The final decision on which teams will get accepted into the league will be revealed to teams later this year.
During this time, team owners will have to plead their case to Riot to be accepted into the league, sources told Dot Esports. Teams will need to complete a formal application that may take weeks to finalize since it will likely require financial details from the organization and teams must demonstrate their commitment to the VALORANT ecosystem, for example.
The three international leagues, which Riot plans to implement for the 2023 VALORANT season, were revealed on April 28. The system will add a new league above the domestic leagues where Riot will invite select teams from around the world to compete against each other in three international LAN leagues.
North America will compete against Brazilian and Latin America teams, for example, while Europe will be placed in a league with Russia, Turkey, and MENA. The final league will include teams from Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, and Oceania.
Select teams from each league will have access to a stipend payment from Riot. This figure is yet to be determined and has not been revealed to teams. Similarly, the number of participants in each league has not been told to teams at time of writing.
