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While it is not a done deal, a team from China could seal a spot in the 2022 Valorant Champions. China has not participated in VCT since its inception, but rule changes have made it so that they can this year.
The story was confirmed by esports writer FionnOnFire on Twitter.
Although the Chinese teams will be participating in a third-party tournament not affiliated with VCT, they will still be eligible to compete for a spot in the Champions.
The teams from each region that failed to make the Champions directly fought for a spot through the Last Chance Qualifiers. In the past, the Japanese and Korean leagues joined with the South-East Asian teams to form APAC during the qualifiers.
However, things will be different this year. The Chinese, Japanese, and Korean teams will compete in East Asia while APAC will comprise teams from SEA, South Asia, and Oceania.
Three teams from Japan, three from Korea, and two from China will make up the eight teams that will be participating in the East Asia LCQ. The best team after the eight-day brawl will qualify for the 2022 World Champions.
If either of the Chinese teams bests the remaining teams from Japan and Korea, they will be setting a new record in VCT history. They will become the first Chinese team to compete in a Valorant global event.
Meanwhile, there are still concerns about their availability at the LAN event. Chinese teams across all esports titles have been unable to make it to offline events due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
In the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitation, China’s Royal Never Give Up participated remotely and ended up winning the tournament.
However, the country might have overcome their COVID problems before then. They could also opt to allow the team to operate remotely just as League of Legends did in the event that they are unable to make it to Istanbul.
It will be a daunting task for the Chinese team to prevail. But even if they don’t, the chances of seeing a Chinese team in the Champions will likely come to pass.
It has been reported that Valorant is considering franchising in various regions. While no word has been heard about it being implemented in China, it would be a travesty to ignore the region.
China has one of the biggest esports climates, with their teams achieving success on the world stage. Giving China its Valorant league might serve the title better in terms of publicity.
The 2022 Champions is scheduled to commence on September 2 and run through to September 18. The event will take place in Istanbul, Turkey.
16 teams will participate in the soon-to-be disclosed prize pool. As we draw closer, more information will be released regarding the format, arena, and teams that will be participating.
In 2021, $1 million was shared among every team that participated. EMEA’s Acend defeated Gambit Esports 3-2 in the grand final to win the tournament and walked away with $350,000.
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