2022 Valorant Champions

2022 Valorant Champions
Tournament information
GameValorant
LocationIstanbul, Turkey
DateAugust 31 – September 18
AdministratorRiot Games
Tournament
format(s)
GSL Format (group stage)
Double Elimination (playoffs)
Venue(s)Volkswagen Arena Istanbul
Teams16
Purse$1,000,000 USD[1]
Final positions
ChampionsLOUD
Runner-upOpTic Gaming
MVPBryan "pAncada" Luna (LOUD)[2]
← 2021
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]

Acend 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.

Istanbul, Turkey
Volkswagen Arena Istanbul
Volkswagen Arena Istanbul on the first day of the knockout stage with spectators

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.[3]

Qualification path Regions
EMEA North America South America East Asia Asia-Pacific[a]
Brazil Latin America[b] China[c] Japan S.Korea
Regional Circuit Points (10 spots) 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 2
Last Chance Qualifier (6 spots) 1 1 2 1 1
Total (16 spots) 3 3 4 3 3

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the event:

Qualified teams for 2022 Valorant Champions
Region Team Qualification
EMEA FunPlus Phoenix EMEA Regional Circuit Points #1
Fnatic EMEA Regional Circuit Points #2
Team Liquid EMEA Last Chance Qualifier winner
North America OpTic Gaming NA Regional Circuit Points #1
XSET NA Regional Circuit Points #2
100 Thieves NA Last Chance Qualifier winner
Asia-Pacific MYSG Paper Rex APAC Regional Circuit Points #1
Thailand XERXIA Esports APAC Regional Circuit Points #2
Indonesia BOOM Esports APAC Last Chance Qualifier winner
East Asia South Korea DRX KR Regional Circuit Points #1
Japan ZETA DIVISION JP Regional Circuit Points #1
China Edward Gaming EA Last Chance Qualifier winner
South America Brazil LOUD BR Regional Circuit Points #1
Furia Esports SA Last Chance Qualifier runner-up
Latin America Leviatán LATAM Regional Circuit Points #1
KRÜ Esports SA 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
Round 1Winner's MatchQualified
August 31
Paper Rex2
September 1
Edward Gaming1
Paper Rex0
August 31
Leviatán2
Leviatán2
Team Liquid0
A1Leviatán
A2Team Liquid
Elimination MatchDecider Match
September 7
September 4Paper Rex1
Edward Gaming0Team Liquid2
Team Liquid2
Group B
Round 1Winner's MatchQualified
September 1
OpTic Gaming2
September 2
BOOM Esports1
OpTic Gaming2
September 1
LOUD1
ZETA DIVISION0
LOUD2
B1OpTic Gaming
B2LOUD
Elimination MatchDecider Match
September 7
September 4LOUD2
BOOM Esports1ZETA DIVISION0
ZETA DIVISION2
Group C
Round 1Winner's MatchQualified
September 3
FunPlus Phoenix2
September 5
KRÜ Esports0
FunPlus Phoenix1
September 3
XSET2
XSET2
XERXIA Esports0
C1XSET
C2FunPlus Phoenix
Elimination MatchDecider Match
September 8
September 5FunPlus Phoenix2
KRÜ Esports2KRÜ Esports0
XERXIA Esports1
Group D
Round 1Winner's MatchQualified
September 2
DRX2
September 3
FURIA Esports0
DRX2
September 2
100 Thieves0
Fnatic1
100 Thieves2
D1DRX
D2Fnatic
Elimination MatchDecider Match
September 8
September 5100 Thieves0
FURIA Esports1Fnatic2
Fnatic2

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.

Upper Bracket QuarterfinalsUpper Bracket SemifinalsUpper Bracket FinalGrand Final
Match 1 – September 9
D1DRX2
Match 7 – September 12
C2FunPlus Phoenix0
W1DRX0
Match 2 – September 9
W2LOUD2
A1Leviatán0
Match 11 – September 16
B2LOUD2
W7LOUD2
Match 3 – September 10
W8OpTic Gaming0
B1OpTic Gaming2
Match 8 – September 12
A2Team Liquid1
W3OpTic Gaming2
Match 4 – September 10
W4XSET1
C1XSET2Match 14 – September 18
D2Fnatic0W11LOUD3
W13OpTic Gaming1
Lower Bracket Round 1Lower Bracket QuarterfinalsLower Bracket SemifinalsLower Bracket Final
Match 9 – September 13
Match 5 – September 11L8XSET1Match 13 – September 17
L1FunPlus Phoenix2W5FunPlus Phoenix2Match 12 – September 16L11OpTic Gaming3
L2Leviatán0W9FunPlus Phoenix0W12DRX2
Match 10 – September 13W10DRX2
Match 6 – September 11L7DRX2
L3Team Liquid0W6Fnatic1
L4Fnatic2

Prize pool

Pos Team Prize
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

  1. ^ Including teams from sub-regions Indonesia, Malaysia+Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan+Hong Kong, Oceania, and South Asia
  2. ^ Latin America has 2 sub-regions LATAM North and LATAM South
  3. ^ Regional Circuit Points was not available for teams from China due to no have Challangers competitions in this season. Teams from China could only compete in East Asia Last Chance Qualifier with teams from Japan and South Korea.

References

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