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Riot has reportedly received over 150 proposals for the Valorant partnered league

According to reports, Riot Games has received over 150 partnership proposals, as esports organizations from around the world are... Shubh | 23. June 2022

According to reports, Riot Games has received over 150 partnership proposals, as esports organizations from around the world are trying to secure a spot in the Valorant esports partnered league. 

More than 200 organizations have expressed interest in the partnership, although some of them were unsuccessful in getting their application approved due to a lack of supporting information, according to a report by Dotesports.

The remaining 150 organizations will have the opportunity to join forces with Riot for the VCT 2023, though. On May 23, Riot allegedly arranged a meeting with many well-known teams, where owners and managers of the organizations gathered to discuss their queries about the partnership with the developers.

Riot partnered leagues

Although it is surely exciting for fans to see Riot’s Valorant league team up with their favorite esports organization, this isn’t the first time Riot has offered partnership to clubs.

In 2018, Riot first introduced the League of Legends franchising for the North American region, also known as League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). But given that the LCS partnership carried a $10 million buy-in cost for chosen clubs, it is natural that there were significantly fewer applications than for Valorant. On the other side, the Valorant partnership provided organizations with a free opportunity to submit their application.

Here are some of the teams that reportedly applied to partner with Riot for Valorant esports:

  • Sentinels
  • 100 Thieves 
  • TSM
  • Counter Logic Gaming
  • OpTic Gaming
  • Cloud9
  • Evil Geniuses
  • Xset
  • The Guard
  • Shopify Rebellion
  • Version1
  • T1
  • G2 Esports

More details on the partnership program 

The Valorant partnership program will begin in 2023 and will include three international leagues, which are planned to be held in LAN with live audiences. The Valorant league is said to have 10 spots available for teams in each league, just as the partnered LEC and LCS.

North American, Latin American, and Brazilian clubs will compete in the first league. The second league will include teams from Europe, Russia, Turkey, and the MENA region, while the third league will be composed of Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, South Asia, and Oceania. Teams will have the chance to secure a spot at Masters and Champions through these leagues.

As a part of the partnership, Riot and selected partnered teams will be able to work together on creating esports content for Valorant. The project will also implement a stipend system that is similar to the franchised Overwatch League. The significant operating costs and player salaries, however, may make the estimated six-figure stipend insufficient for organizations, according to the report.

Partnered teams will reportedly receive a confirmation by September and more information on the partnership program is likely to be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Header: Riot Games