New Year, new mode - this applies to the Challengers tournament in Valorant. The event of the EMEA region, in which the European teams play, acts as the new top league of the region.

In their first match, the e-athletes from Fnatic were able to celebrate a prestigious success and G2 Esports with a 2:1 victory (13:8;11:13; 13:8) defeat. "It was a good match," Fnatic player James "Mistic" Orfila said after the success in the livestream of the tournament. "They played well.»

New mode for Valorant Challengers

Instead of the previous double-elimination format, the participating teams must first prove themselves in a group stage. Only after five days of play will a playoff round follow in the well-known mode.

The top five teams from both groups qualify for these, with the group winners being automatically seeded for the second playoff round. At the VCT Promotion, the last in the standings will compete against the winners of the new regional championships, including "DACH: Evolution" for the German-speaking countries, to maintain their class status.

Valorant-Team Gambit starts with victory

Gambit Esports' Valorant players have also taken a first step towards the playoffs. In the supposed top game of the first matchday of the Challengers League, the runner-up from Russia secured a 2:0 victory (13: 9; 13:8) against Team Liquid at the start of Group A.