2023 Valorant Champions

The Road to Los Angeles

The 2023 Valorant Champions was the culmination of a restructured competitive season. In September 2022, Riot Games announced the 30 partnered teams for the year's Champions Tour. Following the inclusion of the 2023 LOCK//IN event, Los Angeles was confirmed as the host city for the world championship. Sixteen teams earned their place through a combination of results. The top three teams from the playoffs of each of the three international leagues (Americas, EMEA, Pacific) or from Masters Tokyo for EMEA immediately qualified. The other four spots were filled by winners of the regional Last Chance Qualifiers. EMEA was given an additional spot for the Last Chance Qualifier runner-up because Fnatic had won Masters Tokyo. China, although Valorant was not yet officially released there, was granted three special spots to participate via a qualifier hosted by a third-party organizer.

Promotion for the event began in earnest on July 31, 2023, with the release of the official tournament anthem, Ticking Away, produced, composed and performed by Grabbitz and bbno$. Riot Games coordinated launch events across four Los Angeles neighborhoods featuring live music, food, and livestreams of tournament matches. Additionally, Riot released a series of videos featuring bbno$ in a character role called The Random. The final list of the sixteen qualified teams was officially announced by Riot Games on July 23.

Tournament Format and Structure

The championship was split into two distinct stages. The group stage ran from August 6 to 13. The sixteen teams were drawn into four groups of four, adhering to a strict rule that prevented teams from the same region from being placed together. A specific exception was made for the EMEA LCQ number two seed, which was Natus Vincere. The draw used seeding pools determined by team performance at Masters Tokyo and the Last Chance Qualifiers. In each group, a Pool 1 team faced a Pool 4 team, and a Pool 2 team faced a Pool 3 team. They competed in a GSL-style double-elimination format, with all matches being best-of-three series. The top two teams from each group advanced to the playoffs.

The playoff stage, held from August 16 to 26, was a double-elimination bracket. All matches were best-of-three, except for the Lower Bracket Final and the Grand Final, which were best-of-five series. Specific rules governed map pick and ban choices. The higher-seeded or upper-bracket team typically had the choice, indicated by an asterisk in official brackets. If teams had the same seed from the groups, a coin flip decided the choice, with the winner marked by two asterisks. For the grand finals, the team that advanced from the upper bracket received the advantage of banning the first two maps and having the map pick and ban choice.

Venues and Broadcast

The tournament was hosted across two major venues in the Los Angeles area. The Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall served as the primary stage for the entire group stage and the majority of the playoff matches. For the climactic final three days featuring the top four teams, the action moved to the larger and more prestigious Kia Forum to host the semifinals and the grand finals.

The event was produced and broadcast globally by Riot Games. In a notable partnership announcement on August 7, the Junta de Andalucía was named the Global English Broadcast Partner for the tournament. This collaboration helped bring the event to a wide international audience through the official English-language streams. All tournament times were scheduled in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7), aligning with the local time in Los Angeles.

The Championship Run and Final Outcome

The tournament saw the defending champions, LOUD, make a strong run through the bracket, but their title defense ended in the Lower Bracket Finals. There, they were eliminated by the eventual champions, North America's Evil Geniuses. The grand final pitted Evil Geniuses from the Americas league against Paper Rex from the Pacific league, setting up a classic inter-regional showdown.

In a decisive match, Evil Geniuses defeated Paper Rex by a score of 3–1 to claim the world championship and the top prize of $1 million. Their star player, Maximilian Demon1 Mazanov, was named the Most Valuable Player of the entire tournament for his crucial and consistent performances throughout the event. His individual skill was a key factor in Evil Geniuses's unexpected championship run.

Prize Pool and Competitive Significance

Riot Games significantly increased the stakes for the 2023 championship, raising the total prize pool to $2.25 million. This was a major increase from the $1 million prize pool of the 2022 event. The $1 million first-place prize was the largest payout in the Valorant competitive calendar and the peak of the competitive year.

As the final event of the 2023 Valorant Champions Tour, the tournament served as the definitive test for the best teams in the world. It validated the results of the full season of regional league play and international Masters events, providing a clear and prestigious endpoint to the competitive calendar. The victory by Evil Geniuses confirmed their status as the top team in the world and capped off the first year of the partnered league system with a dramatic conclusion.

Qualification and Regional Representation

The qualification system for the 2023 Champions was a complex mix of direct invites and last-chance tournaments. Direct qualification was granted to the top three teams from the playoffs of the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific leagues. Performance at the international Masters Tokyo event could also secure a spot, as it did for EMEA teams. The Last Chance Qualifiers provided a final opportunity for teams that fell short in the regular season, with one winner from each region typically advancing. The unusual case of EMEA receiving an extra LCQ spot, due to Fnatic's Masters Tokyo win, showed how international success could benefit an entire region's representation.

The inclusion of three teams from China via a special third-party qualifier was a notable expansion, bringing a new region into the global championship before the game's official release there. This move signaled Riot Games's commitment to developing the competitive scene in China and integrating it into the worldwide VCT structure from an early stage.