Energy drink brand Red Bull has announced the third season of its collegiate VALORANT tournament, the Red Bull Campus Clutch.
The grassroots initiative will see teams representing schools and universities compete for €20,000 (~£17,188) in prize money.
The 2023 edition of the Red Bull Campus Clutch will see over 200 regional events take place over the next four months. Teams that qualify through the local events will compete in the National Final where the winners will represent their country in the World Final.
Interestingly the World Finals is taking place at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul from November 19th-24th, the same venue as VALORANT Champions 2022.
In addition to announcing a prize pool and location for the final, Red Bull has revealed that Intel NUC, AGON by AOC, and gaming chair brand BACKFORCE will remain partners for the Campus Clutch event.
Intel NUC will provide its range of PCs for the event alongside BACKFORCE’s range of gaming chairs, while AOC will supply its AGON gaming monitors.
The return of the Red Bull Campus Clutch consolidates the brand’s existing partnership with games publisher and developer Riot Games. In April 2023, the two parties announced an extension of their existing partnership for the VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA, where Red Bull will remain an official partner of the league.
The Red Bull Campus Clutch first started in 2021, with 50 countries and over 25,000 students taking part.
The tournament provides a platform for amateur talent to showcase their skills. Notably, 2021 tournament MVP Mohamed ‘shalaby’ Shalaby went on to join French organisation Team Vitality while Indonesian player Oliver ‘m0rea’ Wangge won a gold medal at the 2023 South East Asian Games.
