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| (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Riot Games) |
Riot Games has officially launched the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific League 2023 with a kickoff event at The Podium Hall in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. Drawing hundreds from the Filipino VALORANT community, it was mainly a premiere for the VCT Pacific championship leg which will start on March 25 and run until May 28, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea. The launch marks Riot Games' thrust to strengthen its presence in the Philippines and Asia Pacific region. Riot has significantly grown and expanded from Southeast Asia (SEA) to Asia Pacific (APAC) by folding in Japan, South Asia, and India.
Riot Games Philippines Country Manager Joel Guzman said, "The Filipino community is one of the biggest and most passionate VALORANT communities in the region. The start of this new competitive league in the Philippines is a natural step for our continued expansion in APAC, having already established a strong and growing presence in the region. We are committed to creating hyper-local experiences in the region, tailored to meet the needs of their passionate VALORANT players." VCT Pacific tournament promises to be a thrilling event as fans express their warm support to the Philippines squad, Team Secret, which is currently in Seoul preparing for the world stage. The team will field Jessie Cristy "JessieVash" Cuyco, Jayvee "DubsteP" Paguirigan, Jim "BORKUM" Timbreza, Jeremy "Jremy" Cabrera, and Adrian "invy" Reyes along with Singaporean reserve Lionel "lenne" Lim You Xiang and American coach Evan "Warbirds" Orzem.
Team Secret proved to be the one to look out for after it displayed a monumental upset against Netherland's Team Liquid, 2-0, in the VCT LOCK//IN tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil last February. Other teams competing for the first-ever VCT Pacific title and prize pool of US$250,000 include Indonesian squad Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) with two Pinoys in their roster, DetonatioN FocusMe, DRX, Gen.G, Global eSports, T1, Talon Esports, and ZETA DIVISION. According to eSports information website Liquipedia, Filipinos make up 14 percent (7) of the competition's player base, third in line next to Japan (8) and hosts South Korea (18).
VCT Pacific is one of the three international leagues in the new VCT structure, aimed at providing a new method for teams to qualify for premier-level global tournaments. The league will commence with an eight-week League Play that will utilize a best-of-three, single round-robin format. Six qualifying teams will move forward to Playoffs where they will fight through double elimination rounds in a best-of-three format. Semi and grand finals will be played in a best-of-five format. The top three teams from VCT Pacific will qualify for VCT Masters in June where they will meet the best teams from other international leagues in Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and will also qualify for VCT Champions in August where they will have a chance to fight for the title of VALORANT World Champion. Meanwhile, other Pacific teams will have one more chance to fight for a slot at Champions through the VCT Pacific Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ) in July.
