According to the rules, the selected teams were mandated to have just one import player for the entirety of 2023 and at least four residents on their starting roster. The game developer revealed that the decision was reached to protect the regional identity of each team as they participate in international events.

“In order to maintain the regional identity of the VCT Participating Teams that compete in a global competition and to encourage the type of regional identification that is important to fans and sponsors, each Team must maintain, at all times during the Season, at least four (4) Team Members on its starting roster who are Residents,” Riot Games wrote.

The 2023 VCT will revolve around three leagues, which are the Americas (North America, Latin America, and Brazil), the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and finally, the Pacific League. Each nation in the mentioned leagues is, according to Riot’s ruling, League Territory.

The game developer revealed that among the five North American squads selected in the American League, which includes NRG, Cloud9, Sentinels, Evil Geniuses, and 100 Thieves, one could fill their entire lineup with Brazilian players if they chose to do so. However, each franchise are allowed to sign only one player from the Pacific or EMEA.

“For example, the United States and Brazil are part of the Americas League Territory, and Germany and Nigeria are part of the EMEA League Territory,” Riot wrote.

As a result of this, Valorant partners like T1, who were accepted as a Pacific league partner, will have to part ways with their predominantly North American roster in favor of an Asian-based lineup in order to complete the relocation.

Riot Games’ released import rules will notably make things more difficult for rejected teams like OpTic Gaming and XSET. The two organizations were unable to land a slot in the company’s franchise, and thus, the only way their lineup can remain in one place is if a squad in the Americas decides to add the players to their roster. Due to their region, the teams’ rosters will be unable to move to organizations in either the Pacific or the EMEA leagues.

While introducing their Roster Construction Rules, Valorant revealed that the entire reason for the mandates was to ensure that “competitive integrity within the international leagues of the VALORANT Champions Tour” was promoted. The purpose of the rules was also to ensure that players received equal opportunities with others regardless of their country of origin or region.

“The purpose of these Roster Construction Rules is to promote competitive integrity within the international Leagues of the VALORANT Champions Tour and to increase opportunities across national boundaries so that players in one country or region who have achieved a certain level of success in the game can compete on an equal footing with players at the same level of accomplishment in other countries and regions,” the rules read.

The first tournament for the VCT 2023 is an inaugural event dubbed the kick-off Tournament, and it will take place in S?o Paulo from February till early March. The event will feature the entire Valorant partnered teams.

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The most recent information concerning the partnership is the amount of money the new partners would be given after being accepted into the program. While impressive, the stated amount is relative to the organization being paid.

Factors like the region the team is located in, as well as its performance all year round and the revenue sources of the league, will all play a part in the remuneration. At the moment, the lowest amount Riot Games will distribute to teams is $600,000. $1.5 million is the highest pay if the parties involved can deliver appealing results.

Compared to American and EMEA teams, Asian organizations will receive a slightly lower amount from Riot Games. This is reportedly because the region operates at a lower cost than its counterparts.

News of the Valorant partnership program with Riot Games was first released in late April. The partnership will commence at the beginning of 2023 and take the place of the open circuit that the game has had since it was first released.

The new system is glaringly different from the conventional way of establishing a franchise. Organizations like the Call of Duty League, Overwatch League, or even LCS and LEC owned by Riot Games, all practice systems where interested organizations are mandated to produce a flat buy-in fee to be included.

In contrast, the Valorant partnership program would award international leagues who scaled through the screening program a certain amount yearly to ease the organization’s operational costs.

Due to how rigorous the screening process is, a number of esports organizations, including New York Fury, Complexity, and Luminosity, have all been turned down by the game developer. As a result, the teams have either exited the scene or removed themselves from Valorant esports as a whole.

The Asian, American, and European teams are still undergoing the program’s interview process. Riot Games announced that North American teams like TSM, Cloud9, The Guard, Version 1, and NRG were shortlisted and would proceed to the next screening phase.

This round included personal meetings with the teams to compile their financial information. DRX Vision Strikers, a Korean group, will likely move on to the next round.

The fact that the mentioned teams were selected to move to the next round does not guarantee they will make it to the actual partnership. Riot Games will reportedly reveal the esports organizations that will be a part of the 2023 circuit before the Valorant Champions 2022 event, which is scheduled to take place at the end of the year.

The highly anticipated event will be held between September 2 to September 18 in Istanbul, Turkey, and boasts a prize pool of over $1 million. The date is much earlier than the Valorant Champions 2021 held last year and will give room for the changes to the franchising format in 2023.

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