List of prominent esports organizations that didn’t make the cut for VCT 2023
It isn’t always about winning.
The VCT 2023 season promised to shake up the Valorant esports scene with teams contending for a spot in Riot Games’ partnership program.
These selected teams will be competing innext year’s International Leaguesin three regions: Americas, EMEA, and the Pacific. Each region will have 10 partnered teams, which makes 30 in total.
TheseValorant partnered teamswill represent “the premier level of competition in the VCT,” according to Riot.
However, among the long list of teams that didn’t make it into the VCT 2023 season areOpTic GamingandFunPlus Phoenix, two squads that walked away with Masters trophies this year.
Why OpTic Gaming and FunPlux Phoenix were left out of the VCT 2023 season
Before Riot Games announced the VCT partnered teams, OpTic and FPX were seen as the frontrunners to make it into the international leagues next year.
OpTic has been one of the most consistent teams this year, placing within the top three at every international LAN they have attended.They won Masters Reykjavik, finished third atMasters Copenhagen, and ended their season as the runner-up atValorant Champions 2022.
FPX established themselves as a top-tier team when they wonMasters Copenhagenand finished fourth atValorant Champions 2022. An argument can also be made that they could have been one of the top teams at Masters Reykjavik.
Leading up to the first Masters event of the year, FPX punched their ticket to Iceland as the top-seeded team from the EMEA region. But due to travel restrictions in Ukraine and Russia,FPX was forced to withdrawfrom the tournament.
Despite both teams’ stellar performances during the VCT 2022 season, Riot Games did not factor in past competitive performances in their selection process. “We instead focused on an organization’s ability to create the most compelling VCT for fans in the future,” they saidin an official statement.
Japan
APAC
The wide range of organizations that did not make it into Riot Games’ partnership program has left many pros looking to join franchise teams in the off-season.
OpTic Gaming starJaccob “yay” Whiteaker, one of the best Valorant players in the world, announced that he is looking to join a partnered team either in North America or EMEA as a restricted free agent.
Teams and organizations that choose to retain their Valorant roster despite not making it into the VCT 2023 season can continue their journey through theChallengers leaguesnext year.
The top teams that emerge from the Tier 2 scene will get a chance to move up to the international leagues through Ascension tournaments.
READ MORE:Yay on OpTic’s future: ‘We may end up splitting’
