After the incredible storylines that brought the VALORANT Champions tour to its grand culmination in Los Angeles last year, Seoul will host its first major professional VALORANT event: Champions 2024.
One of the esports capitals of the world, South Korea has already been the home of many major global esports events across a variety of games, including fellow Riot title League of Legends’ 2023 World Championships. The infrastructure of the city allows for esports events to be held in Seoul time and time again in front of an incredible audience.
Seoul is no stranger to hosting offline VALORANT events. The city has been the home of the VCT Pacific league for the last year, where players from across Asia-Pacific have made their new homes during the competitive season. With 11 teams this year up from the original ten in 2023, even more players are now flocking to the city.
After the massive success of Masters Tokyo last year, coupled with the release of VALORANT in China and now the VCT China league, East Asia has become a notable point on the map for a game that in its early days was dominated by former Counter-Strike players. As CS is a more popular title in Europe and the Americas, Asian VALORANT teams took longer to develop and hone different strategies. For example, some of VCT Pacific’s notable stars are former Overwatch pros who now make a living planting a Spike instead.
Last season, Seoul-based organization DRX saw their team attend every international VCT event and finish second in the VCT Pacific league. Though DRX were formerly the only Korean team that got major attention internationally, fellow countrymen on the T1 and Gen.G rosters made their own waves last year. Undoubtedly, VCT Champions 2024 in Seoul will be a massive goal for all three of these teams, and other teams across every league with Korean players.
The VCT format this year looks a little different, with regional Kickoff tournaments followed by Masters Madrid, Masters Shanghai, and Champions Seoul, with rotational play sandwiched in between. The VCT Pacific Kickoff began today, Feb. 17. The VCT has truly become a global spectacle, and players will continue traversing the globe, giving fans around the world opportunities to see their favorite players.
Champions won’t be the only event hosted in East Asia this year, as the second Masters tournament is set for Shanghai, China in late May to early June. Champions will be hosted from Aug. 1 to 25 in Seoul, with an exact location yet to be announced.
