Riot Games plans to organize regional VALORANT franchise leagues by next year

According to insider George Geddes, several high-profile teams have been in contact with Riot Games regarding the system for participating in franchise leagues that they plan to organize next year. On Monday, May 23, the developers held a meeting where team owners and managers could ask questions regarding the partner system. All information, including several documents, is under a strict non-disclosure agreement.

There will reportedly be 8 to 10 teams in the North American, Brazilian and Latin American leagues that will be directly invited to the league next year. According to one source, the other two leagues based in Europe and Asia will have roughly the same number of dedicated slots.

Teams will be applying for invitations to become Riot Games Partners in VALORANT over the next few months. The developers plan to pay partner teams a "six-figure sum". However, this will not help the leading esports clubs much, since they are paying players already high salaries.

Probably, the developers decided to follow the path of their other well-known discipline. For example, both the LEC and LCS have 10 free slots for teams, and each league offers a chance to qualify for the World Championship.

For VALORANT, regional leagues will be the starting point for international tournaments like the Masters and Champions.

The partnership system, which was announced by Riot Games late last month, will begin in 2023 with three international leagues that will be played both LAN and online, subject to medical and safety guidelines. North American teams will compete against teams from Latin America and Brazil. Teams from Europe, Russia, Turkey and MENA will unite in the second league. Teams from Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, South Asia and Oceania will make up the third league.