VALORANT Champions Tour APAC Stage 2 Challengers to start on June 9
The VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) APAC Stage 2 Challengers is scheduled to begin in the upcoming days, where top teams of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will be fighting for prestigious spots in the VCT Stage 2 Masters in Copenhagen.
The top two teams from APAC Stage 2 Challengers will be going to Denmark in July 2022 to represent the Asia Pacific region in the upcoming international LAN event. Copenhagen Masters, in fact, will be the first international VALORANT LAN event with a live audience.
VCT APAC Stage 2 Challengers Format
Riot has already announced the format for this year’s VCT APAC Stage 2 Challengers. The tournament will be divided into three stages:
– Play-In
– Group Stage
– Playoffs
A total of 20 teams will be participating in the event and 12 of them will start directly from the Group Stage. Meanwhile, the remaining eight teams will have to begin in the Play-Ins.
In the Play-Ins, eight teams will be split into two different groups and the top two teams from each group will go to the Group Stage. Later, the 16 qualified teams in the Group Stage will again be split into four groups and the top two teams from each group will then qualify to participate in the Playoffs.
The remaining eight teams will go to a double-elimination format in the Playoffs. The top two teams in the competition will be going to Stage 2 Masters to represent the APAC region in Denmark.
Paper Rex and Xerxia Esports represented the APAC region in the VCT Stage 1 Masters Reykjavik last year. Even though Paper Rex only finished fourth in Iceland, the Southeast Asian team showed the world their capabilities. NA champion The Guard and EMEA’s G2 Esports were defeated by Paper Rex last April in Reykjavik.
Tournament Dates
According to Riot, the VCT Challengers APAC Stage 2 Playoffs will start on June 9 and will continue until June 26. The tournament is divided into three stages:
Play-ins: June 9-12
Format: 8 teams will play in GSL format and 4 top teams will continue to the next stage.
Groups: 15-20 June
Format: 16 teams will play in GSL format and 8 top teams will continue to the knockout stage.
Knockouts & Finals: 23-26 June
Format: 8 teams will be competing through a series of double elimination brackets. The final two teams will be going to Masters 2.
Tournament day matches will kick off at 11:00 am GMT+8.
Qualified teams
A total of 8 teams from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore/Malaysia, and Taiwan/Hong Kong, have qualified to compete in the Challengers Stage 2.
After successfully proving themselves in their respective local tournaments, the following teams from Southeast Asia, South Asia and Oceania will be participating in Playoffs. Those teams are as follows:
Thailand – Xerxia, FW Esports, Made in Thailand
Philippines – Team Secret, Oasis Gaming, Rex Regum Qeon
Indonesia – Onic G, Alter Ego, Boom Esports
Vietnam – Fancy United Esports, Cerberus Esports, Team Big Baam
Singapore/Malaysia – Paper Rex, Gaimin Gladiators (formerly Laze), Bleed Esports
Taiwan/Hong Kong – Griffin E-Sports, Ghetto Artist
South Asia – TBD, TBD
Oceania – Order
Play-In Group Draws
There will be two groups on the Play-In Stage. Here are the group draws for this stage:
Group A
Boom Esports
Made in Thailand
Enigma Gaming
Cerberus Esports
Group B
Bleed Esports
Rex Regum
QeonTeam
Big Baam
Ghetto Artist
Group Stage Draw
There will be four Groups at this stage of the competition.
Group A
ONIC Esports, Gaimin Gladiators, Griffin E-Sports, TBD
Group B
Xerxia Esports, Alter Ego, Global Esports, TBD
Group C
Paper Rex, Oasis Gaming, Order, TBD
Group D:
Team Secret, FW Esports, Fancy United Esports, TBD
Schedule, where to watch
All the matches of the VCT APAC Stage 2 Challengers will be streamed live on the VALORANT Champions Tour YouTube and Twitch channels.
