ONE Esports, the esports venture of sports media company ONE Championship, has announced it will host an invitational VALORANT tournament in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region.
Appointed by Korean-based streaming service AfreecaTV, ONE Esports will operate the inaugural AfreecaTV VALORANT SEA Invitational.
The event will take place from November 29th-December 4th and is part of the official off-season circuit for the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT). Known as the VALORANT OFF//SEASON, the initiative aims to provide third-party tournament organisers with an option to host VALORANT tournaments outside of the VCT circuit, which is run by game publisher Riot Games.
The AfreecaTV VALORANT SEA Invitational will see a total of 16 SEA teams compete for a chance to win a share of $25,000 (~£21,158) in prize money. Some of the organisations competing in the vent include VCT Pacific partner team Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ), BOOM Esports, XERXIA and Alter Ego.
As event hosts, ONE Esports will produce a range of coverage across its publications and social channels during the group stage and playoffs. Eight teams will qualify from four groups with the playoffs utilising a single-elimination bracket format.
The event marks the first collaboration between AfreecaTV and ONE Esports. Over the course of 2022, ONE Esports has collaborated with EA as well as secured deals with the likes of Mobalytics and international banking company HSBC.
The AfreecaTV VALORANT SEA Invitational is one of many off-season tournaments that have been revealed. It joins the likes of Spike Series III, organised by Brazilian tournament organiser Esportsmaker, and the G-Loot VALORANT Clash, organised by esports platform G-Loot.
Riot Games says the off-season will feature ‘at least 25 tournaments’ organised by a variety of tournament organisers. The publisher also revealed that it is open to expanding the number to accommodate more events.
