Rumors: Tencent will launch a Chinese VALORANT league this summer

According to Bloomberg, Tencent will launch a Chinese VALORANT league this summer. The development of the ecosystem, as previously expected, will be handled by the TJ Sports division. In recent weeks, the company has been in talks with leading Chinese esports organizations to create their own competition.

It is reported that the start is scheduled for the summer of 2023, the date may move, as negotiations are in the early stages. At the same time, the organizers need to wait for the official release of the game in China, the date of which is not reported.

The same tournament operator will be responsible for the future league as for the LPL in the League of Legends discipline. Thus, one should expect serious efforts by the organizers to promote discipline in the country.

The new Chinese league can be part of the VCT series (similar to Europe, America and Asia) with direct access to international competitions, or the VALORANT Challengers series, an integral part of the TIER-2 scene within the VCT Pacific.

It was previously reported that major esports organizations are interested in the discipline, including Ninjas in Pajamas, TOP Esports, Rare Atom, TYLOO, Nova Esports and Royal Never Give Up.

Recall that at the beginning of 2023, Riot Games officially gave the green light to the development of VALORANT in China. In particular, the two strongest teams in the region, FunPlus Phoenix and EDward Gaming, have been added to the list of participants in the upcoming VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo. After the approval of the local authorities and the forthcoming launch of the game in the country, many organizations became interested in entering the discipline.