VCT NA Stage 1 Challengers Group Stage: Schedule, results, teams, where to watch
Who will make it to the playoffs?
North American Valorant is about to begin the second phase of its regional VCT circuit with theVCT NA Stage 1 ChallengersMain Event. The top 12 teams in North America are set to compete for the eight spots in the playoffs stage, which will put them one step closer to the first international LAN showdown of the year at Stage 1 Masters.
Masters Reykjavik champions Sentinels,Masters Berlin finalist Team Envy, thenew 100 Thieves roster, and Cloud9 Blue received direct invites to the main event, based on their performance at VCT 2021.
They will go up against the top four teams from thefirstandsecond qualifiers, who will be looking to prove themselves against North America’s best squads from last season.
Here’s everything you need to know about the main event, including the complete schedule, teams, results, and where to watch the action unfold.
What is the VCT NA Stage 1 Challengers Group Stage?
VCT NA Challengers Stage 1 is the first VCT competition of the 2022 season in North America. It consists of three phases – two open qualifiers, the group stage, and the playoffs stage.
The group stage, or main event, will determine which eight teams make it to the playoffs, where they will then battle for a spot at the first Valorant Masters event of the year and earn VCT circuit points to qualify for Valorant Champions.
Only two teams will make it through the playoffs, and they will go on to represent North America at Stage 1 Masters in April.
Event schedule and match results
The main event kicks off this weekend on February 12 and runs through March 13. Matches will be played every Friday through Sunday for the duration of the tournament, starting at 1:00 p.m. PT.
You can view the team groupings below.
Format of the tournament
The 12 teams were split into two groups of six squads via a group draw that was conducted in the presence of representatives from each participating organization. Teams were then split into pools based on how they qualified, so teams like Sentinels who received direct invites took priority, followed by those who qualified through the first and second open qualifiers.
Instead of the traditional double-elimination format, they will compete in round-robin best-of-three matches, and the top four teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. The bottom two will be eliminated.
Where to watch the tournament?
Valorant fans can watch the matches live on Riot Games’ official Twitch and YouTube channels:
READ MORE:How to rank up in Valorant, according to Gambit Esports nAts
