Riot To Allow Organizations To Nominate Women's Teams Under New Rulebook

With the start of the Valorant Champions Tour this year, Riot quietly released an updated iteration of its global competition policy through the end of 2020. Along with numerous changes to the rulebook, including a new section describing the use of exploits, the update also introduced a policy of concurrent ownership of multiple commands, which will take effect on February 1, 2021.

The purpose of this document is to outline constraints and guidelines for delineating issues that may arise from individuals or organizations with an interest in more than one competing team.

"In the interest of promoting and developing a female professional player base, an esports organization can own and manage a minor team of female players without creating a simultaneous conflict of ownership."

The policy exception is in line with Riot's efforts to develop the female scene at VALORANT. Note that during the Ignition Series, the company sponsored the FTW Summer Showdown, a tournament held exclusively between women's teams. The tournament was officially added to the Ignition Series and the prize pool was increased to $ 50,000.

The most visible team to be impacted by the rule changes is Cloud9 White. The team was signed by the organization after an amazing winning streak. Cloud9 White qualified for First Strike: North America along with her sister team Cloud9 Blue, however, she was unable to show a decent result.

With the new policy in place, Cloud9 White will be competing in the upcoming Valorant Champions Tour alongside Cloud9 Blue, with both teams potentially playing against each other.