Los Angeles Chosen as Location for VCT Champions 2023
Riot Games has officially revealed that Los Angeles, California will be the host city for VCT Champions 2023 in August as North America gets its first international VALORANT tournament.
Los Angeles was initially meant to be the host location for the inaugural VCT Champions in 2021 but was ultimately moved to Berlin, Germany where Acend was named VALORANT’s first world champions. Now, it appears that North America will finally get their international VALORANT tournament as teams look to dethrone reigning champs LOUD in 2023.
This is where champions are made.
— VALORANT (@VALORANT) March 4, 2023
VALORANT Champions 2023 is coming to Los Angeles in August. It all starts at the Shrine Expo Hall and ends at the Kia Forum. Get the details with Anna and Leo. pic.twitter.com/YhCOrboRnc
“We’re excited to bring the first-ever international VALORANT tournament to North America, where two storied locations will serve as the home of Champions during the month of August,” The official press release said.
VCT Champions 2023 will begin on Aug. 6 at the Shrine Auditorium. The 16 qualified teams from the PACIFIC, Americas, and EMEA leagues will compete in the opening rounds until Aug. 20, when only four teams will remain by the end of it. Those four teams will then move on to the Finals weekend starting on Aug. 24, 2023, at the Kia Forum and compete for a spot in the grand final on Aug. 26, 2023.
Riot Games will release more information about purchasing tickets and other details in the coming months. For now, teams will have a short window of rest following the conclusion of VCT 2023: LOCK//IN Sao Paulo before the regional leagues begin on March 26, 2023. Meanwhile, the Americas League will get a glimpse of professional VALORANT play in Los Angeles as the 10 partnered teams look to qualify for VCT Masters Tokyo in June 2023.
How to watch VALORANT in 2023
You can watch the action unfold on VCT's Twitch and YouTube channels. We will continue to update this article with more information regarding tickets, match schedules, and broadcast talent.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.