Riot Games has announced their plans for the franchising system for VALORANT Championship Tour. The VALORANT community — including casters, players, fans and everyone else — has reacted overall great to the upcoming system.
Introducing VALORANT Challengers ‘23
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) August 16, 2022
The rumors about the system were not favorable by fans, mainly due to the low amount of teams mentioned to join the leagues with franchising. But the inclusion of non-franchised teams to international leagues and global events has surprised and pleased many fans who were waiting on updates about the upcoming franchising system for VALORANT.
Goldenboy, host of VCT: Masters 2 – Copenhagen alongside Yinsu Collins, replied: “This is a stellar system. Merit-based promotion is a massive W.”
He then added another tweet mentioning his satisfaction.
After reading this it's EXACTLY what I hoped it would have been. Teams fighting through challengers for that one League spot every year is going to be exciting and creates aspiration for up and coming squads.
Well done John Riot. https://t.co/9wyBr9ERsY
— Goldenboy (@GoldenboyFTW) August 16, 2022
Acend’s manager Krimson has tweeted about how this system combines positive elements of other franchising systems and non-franchising. He also added: “Also in-game competition to lead in to this is awesome!”
I'm a big fan of this, seems to combine elements of a promotional system whilst keeping the benefits of having long-term partners in the ecosystem.
Also in-game compeition to lead in to this is awesome! https://t.co/ICvMjrL7Tn
— ACE Krimson (@KrimsonAer) August 16, 2022
Co-founder of Plat Chat Brennon Hook mentioned the biggest news to take away from this being “having a robust system to feed talent/teams into the Premier events is key to having a successful franchised system.”
The biggest part of the article, having a robust system to feed talent/teams into the Premier events is key to having a successful franchised system.
Healthy T2 = Sustainable T1.
How many franchised leagues have you seen where this gets missed? https://t.co/KkvpdLElAg pic.twitter.com/xKrJvWvMnx
— Brennon Hook (@BrenCasts) August 16, 2022
Head of VALORANT Esports for EMEA, Daniel “RiotStupendous” Ringland, tweeted that they were “super excited to see our VRL system evolve, expand and go global in 2023!”
Super excited to see our VRL system evolve, expand and go global in 2023! https://t.co/QVtGK4OMyD
— Daniel Ringland (@RiotStupendous) August 16, 2022
Many fans mentioned the support given to Tier 2 leagues and teams as the best part of the system. According to the general consensus, this move will help VALORANT in the long run with a sustainable VCT.
As expected the tier 2 scene will still be thriving! Can't wait for 2023. Well done riot 👏 https://t.co/c0HDf8pAv7
— Ian Harding (@IanImmi) August 16, 2022
The well-received plan will be effective starting 2023, so stay tuned for more updates about the system and the teams who get into the franchising.