Game developer Riot Games has announced the schedule for VALORANT’s upcoming esports off-season, which will take place between September 2023 and January 2024.
Called VALORANT OFF//SEASON, the company announced more than 40 events all over the world which will include show matches, LAN tournaments and open qualifiers.
The main part of VALORANT’s 2023 competitive season concludes with its largest VALORANT competitive tournament, VALORANT Champions, which is currently taking place in Los Angeles, United States. With the event finishing in August, this leaves players and teams with a sizable gap in the competitive calendar since partnered leagues such as VCT EMEA will return in January 2024.
To bridge the gap, and provide both players and viewers with content throughout this period, Riot Games has created an off-season schedule. This is the second year that official off-season tournaments are taking place, and this time around more events will take place. Around 40 events differing in size and location will take place before the new season, and Riot Games has worked with third-party tournament organisers to make them happen.
For comparison, last year’s announcement initially had 25 total events.
Every region will get its own share of events. The Asia-Pacific region will have at least 17 events, the Americas region at least 15 and EMEA at least eight. This makes sense due to the sizing of the regions. According to Riot Games, this is not a final number, and more events might be added by year’s end.
Riot Games said the following in a release: “Riot Games will support the OFF//SEASON events with amplification through our channels, a dedicated page with an updated schedule, and providing guidance to ensure a smooth experience event over event.”
Notable events and organisers will return for 2023, with the likes of Coupe the France and BME Superdome in Egypt taking place again in the EMEA region, as well as the Crossfire Cup in Spain.
Ludwig x Tarik Invitational, the event that kicked off the 2022 off-season will also return for the second edition in the Americas. Interestingly, a women’s tournament created in partnership with the Army National Guard called the Neon Dream Women’s VALORANT Invitational was announced for North America.
In the Pacific region, viewers will be able to watch the Red Bull Home Ground in Japan, as well as the VALORANT India Invitational and the VALORANT Sensational Social Summer Shindig.
All information about the upcoming tournaments can be found on the official VALORANT website.
