Riot Games has announced First Strike, the first official VALORANT tournaments. 

The global event will build on the momentum of VALORANT esports and give players around the world the opportunity to begin building their regional legacy through a series of tournaments. 

Introducing First Strike, Senior Director of Esports at Riot Games, Whalen Rozelle, said:

“VALORANT is a deeply competitive title with global appeal and the necessary elements to become the next premier esport.

“First Strike will provide our thriving competitive ecosystem with the platform to showcase their greatness, build regional legacy, and a foundation that will support the esport for years to come.”

While Executive Producer of VALORANT, Anna Donlon, added:

“Esports remains one of the best investments we can make to support our community for the long term.

“As we’ve already seen from the Ignition Series, there’s a huge demand and hunger for VALORANT to be played at a professional level, and we’re so excited to be starting that journey with fans, players, and organizations. As a development team, supporting the competitive world of VALORANT is one of our top priorities, and we are committed to this journey.”

First Strike will consist of a global set of tournaments, composed of multiple regional finals taking place across North America, Europe, CIS, Turkey, Asia, Oceania, Brazil, and the Middle East. 

Each will host a series of merit-based qualifiers, resulting in multiple Riot-produced, top eight First Strike Finals, running from 3 – 6 December 2020. Winners will earn the right to call themselves the first ever official regional VALORANT champions. 

Both professional and amateur teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the First Strike finals through online tournaments operating by premier esports organisations. 

Over the past six months, hundreds of VALORANT tournaments have taken place globally, awarding more than $1M in prizes to teams and players. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The appetite for VALORANT esports is already very apparent, and was illustrated by the success of the recent BLAST VALORANT Twitch Invitational, and VALORANT Ignition Series, Allied Esports Odyssey, so it’s great to see Riot establishing an official regional structure open to all teams and players. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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