2022 Valorant Champions Explained

2022 Valorant Champions
Game:Valorant
Location:Istanbul, Turkey
Date:August 31 – September 18
Administrator:Riot Games
Tournament Format:GSL Format (group stage)
Double Elimination (playoffs)
Venues:Volkswagen Arena Istanbul
Teams:16
Purse:$1,000,000 USD[1]
Champions:LOUD
Runner-Up1:OpTic Gaming
Mvp:Bryan "pAncada" Luna (LOUD)[2]
Previous:2021
Next:2023

The 2022 Valorant Champions was an esports tournament for the video game Valorant. This was the second edition of the Valorant Champions, the crowning event of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) for the 2022 Valorant competitive season. The tournament was held from August 31 to September 18, 2022, in Istanbul, Turkey.[3] [4] [5]

"Fire Again" was the tournament's theme song, put together by Ashnikko.[6]

were the defending champions, but failed to qualify for the event after losing to G2 Esports in the VCT 2022: EMEA Last Chance Qualifier.[7]

LOUD won the Valorant world championship after defeating OpTic Gaming in the finals by a score of 3–1.[8]

Venues

Istanbul was the city chosen to host the competition. The tournament was held at the Volkswagen Arena Istanbul, with spectators from knockout stage.

Format

Tournament's spots

Sixteen teams qualified for the global crowning event of the circuit, with ten teams qualifying through points earned throughout the season, while the remaining six teams qualified via the Last Chance Qualifiers.

Qualification pathRegions
North AmericaSouth AmericaEast AsiaAsia-Pacific
BrazilLatin AmericaChinaJapanS.Korea
Regional Circuit Points (10 spots)22110112
Last Chance Qualifier (6 spots)11211
Total (16 spots)33433

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the event:

Qualified teams for 2022 Valorant Champions
Region TeamQualification
FunPlus PhoenixEMEA Regional Circuit Points #1
FnaticEMEA Regional Circuit Points #2
Team LiquidEMEA Last Chance Qualifier winner
North AmericaOpTic GamingNA Regional Circuit Points #1
XSETNA Regional Circuit Points #2
100 ThievesNA Last Chance Qualifier winner
Asia-PacificPaper RexAPAC Regional Circuit Points #1
ThailandXERXIA EsportsAPAC Regional Circuit Points #2
IndonesiaBOOM EsportsAPAC Last Chance Qualifier winner
East AsiaSouth KoreaDRXKR Regional Circuit Points #1
JapanZETA DIVISIONJP Regional Circuit Points #1
ChinaEdward GamingEA Last Chance Qualifier winner
South America BrazilBR Regional Circuit Points #1
Furia EsportsSA Last Chance Qualifier runner-up
Latin AmericaLeviatánLATAM Regional Circuit Points #1
KRÜ EsportsSA Last Chance Qualifier winner

Group stage

The group stage took place August 31 – September 8, 2022. All 16 teams were divided into 4 groups of four teams each playing in a GSL-style double-elimination format. Games were held in a best-of-three series. Only the top 2 teams in each group will qualified for the playoffs.

Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D

Knockout stage

The knockouts were a double-elimination tournament that took place September 9–18, 2022, at Volkswagen Arena, Istanbul. All matches were a best-of-three series, except for the Lower Bracket Final and the Grand Final, which were a best-of-five series.

Prize pool

PosTeamPrize
1st LOUD $300,000
2nd OpTic Gaming $150,000
3rd DRX $110,000
4th FunPlus Phoenix $80,000
5th–6th XSET $60,000
Fnatic
7th–8th Team Liquid $40,000
Leviatán
9th–12th 100 Thieves $25,000
KRÜ Esports
ZETA Division
Paper Rex
13th–16th Furia Esports $15,000
XERXIA Esports
BOOM Esports
Edward Gaming

Notes and References

  1. News: Zucker . Coby . Everything you need to know about Champions 2022 playoffs . 9 September 2022 . Upcomer . 8 September 2022 . en.
  2. News: Lozano . Kurt . LOUD win VALORANT Champions 2022 with 3-1 rout over OpTic . August 16, 2023 . . September 19, 2022.
  3. News: Zucker . Coby . Riot Games announces VALORANT Champions 2022 will be in Istanbul . June 22, 2022 . . May 13, 2022.
  4. News: Šimić . Ivan . VCT is coming to Copenhagen and Istanbul in 2022 . June 22, 2022 . Esports Insider . May 13, 2022.
  5. News: 17 August 2022 . Valorant Champions 2022: Everything you need to know . valorantesports.com . 24 August 2022.
  6. News: Riot releases VALORANT Champions 2022 anthem 'Fire Again'. Dot Esports. 22 August 2022. 22 August 2022.
  7. News: Manske . Nadine . A new VCT champion will be crowned in 2022 after G2 send Acend home from EMEA LCQ . August 10, 2022 . Dot Esports . August 9, 2022.
  8. News: Klimentov . Mikhail . LOUD wins ‘Valorant’ world championship, defeating OpTic in Istanbul . September 19, 2022 . . September 18, 2022.