Game developer Riot Games and esports company BLAST have announced the third edition of Spike Nations, a charity VALORANT tournament in the EMEA region.
The tournament will gather 12 teams from Europe, Middle East and Africa. The teams themselves will include professional players, streamers and gaming personalities. The prize pool for the event is €60,000 (~£52,000), all of which will be donated to charity.
Spike Nations offers a unique twist to traditional esports competitions, with the tournament played by teams from nations (Team France) and regions (Team MENA). The first iterations of Spike Nations commenced November 2020 and featured a total of 10 teams.
Last year, the total increased to 12 and team Eastern Europe secured the victory, donating its earnings to Te Aud Romania. According to Esports Charts, the tournament recorded a peak viewership of 38,330.
The teams competing this year include the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Nordics, Poland, Turkey, Italy, DACH, Benelux, Eastern Europe and MENA.
Riot Games and BLAST also announced that fans can donate to their team of choice and that the two teams with the most donations will secure a spot in the second stage of the tournament. Of course, with this being a charity tournament, all donations will go to the prize pool and will be donated.
Leo Matlock, MD for Development at BLAST, commented: “BLAST are thrilled to welcome back Spike Nations for its third instalment and are delighted to see the fan-favourite tournament become a mainstay of the VALORANT calendar. Through championing first-class technology, production and esports expertise, BLAST has established itself as the leading partner for the world’s biggest and best games.
The tournament, set to be played on October 14th-16th, will be hosted by an on-air team of ‘familiar faces from the VCT’ as well as personnel from the VRL scene, Riot announced.
