Several prominent teams across the world have been in contact with VALORANT developer Riot Games regarding the partnership system for next year, multiple sources told Dot Esports.
Riot hosted a meeting on Monday, May 23 where team owners and managers could ask questions to the developers regarding the partnership system. All information, including several documents, is under a strict non-disclosure agreement by Riot.
Sources told Dot Esports that the North American, Brazilian, and Latin American league will have eight to 10 teams that will be directly invited to the league next year. The other two leagues, based in Europe and Asia, will have around the same number of slots, according to one source.
Teams will be applying for a chance to be invited to partner with Riot in VALORANT for the next few months.
The stipend will be “in the six figures” but will likely be ineffective because most top teams pay players high salaries, according to two sources. Some teams have operating costs in the seven figures, according to sources.
These initial details of the partnership system are parallel to Riot’s franchised leagues in League of Legends. Both the LEC and the LCS, for example, have 10 spots available for teams and each league offers the chance to qualify for the most anticipated event of the year, the League World Championship.
For VALORANT, these leagues will be the pathway for international tournaments such as Masters and Champions.
The partnership system, which was announced by Riot on April 28, will begin in 2023 with three international leagues, which will be hosted on LAN and with live audiences, providing health and safety guidelines are met. North American teams will be paired with teams from Latin America and Brazil. Teams from Europe, Russia, Turkey, and MENA will make up the second league. Teams from Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, South Asia, and Oceania will make up the third league.
