Oceanic esports broadcaster and tournament organiser LetsPlay.Live and game publisher Riot Games have once again teamed up for VALORANT Challengers Oceania.
For the fourth consecutive year, LetsPlay.Live has been placed in charge of organising the upcoming AUD$40,000 (~£20,700) VALORANT Challengers Oceania 2024 season.
VALORANT Challengers Oceania is part of the game’s Challengers ecosystem, which serves as a second-tier competition to VCT’s international leagues. For its second edition, the circuit has undergone several changes, including doubling the number of participating teams from eight to 16 and integrating the game’s Premier rank system.
Challengers Oceania will kick off with the Open Qualifiers on March 4th, followed by a Group Stage from March 25th until March 31st. The top eight emerging teams will compete in the Playoffs between April 10th and May 1st. Stage 1 will wrap off with the Grand Final on May 2nd.
During Stage 2, the bottom eight teams from Stage 1 will compete against Premier players to qualify for a spot in the Group Stage.
VALORANT Premier is an in-game path-to-pro system allowing aspiring pro players to compete outside Riot’s official tournaments. As part of the company’s vision to directly connect Premier to the VALORANT league ecosystem, Riot unveiled a Premier qualification system to VCT Challengers in November last year.
Headquartered in New Zealand, LetsPlay.Live has specialised in esports event organisation and broadcast since 2015. The company has previously worked with stakeholders inside and outside esports, such as KRAFTON and LG New Zealand.
With the 2024 competitive VALORANT season approaching, the Challengers ecosystem has experienced major developments. The league’s EMEA branch has undergone format changes to raise the stakes in Stage 1 and facilitate the upward mobility of players within the VCT ranks.
Moreover, VALORANT Challengers DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) partnered with insurance company HanseMerkur for its 2024 iteration.
Duane Mutu, Managing Director, LetsPlay.Live, commented on the collaboration with Riot: “LetsPlay.Live has been hosting VALORANT events since the title was released and was the first tournament organiser in the region to broadcast regular VALORANT tournaments on behalf of Riot Games.
“With more teams competing than previous years and the new premier integration, we are expecting a highly competitive season and more competition always translates to amazing content for fans to watch.”
