Heading into 2023, all eyes are on VALORANT esports. Accordingly, with a new format and a plan to take things up a notch, the new Tier 1 season kicks off this coming week. Indeed, read on as we learn How to Watch the opening main event – VCT 2023: LOCK//IN Sao Paolo below!
Event Background
As we’ll reiterate, the VALORANT Champions Tour is very different this year.
Accordingly, gone is the purely open format, as Riot Games has handpicked partner teams from three regions. Indeed, while regional competition will kick off shortly, this event is purely for entertainment and to get the season started.
However, the $500,000 on the line and the extra Masters Tour 2023 seed for the winning region is massive. Here’s a list of all 32 competitors below:
EMEA Partner Team
- BBL Esports
- Fnatic
- FUT Esports
- Giants
- Karmine Corp
- KOI
- Natus Vincere
- Heretics
- Team Liquid
- Team Vitality
Americas Partner Team
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9
- Evil Geniuses
- FURIA Esports
- KRU Esports
- Leviatan
- LOUD
- MIBR
- NRG
- Sentinels
Pacific Partner Team
- DetonatioN FM
- DRX
- Gen.G
- Global Esports
- Paper Rex
- Rex Regum Qeon
- T1
- Talon Esports
- Team Secret
- ZETA DIVISION
China Partner Team
- EDward Gaming
- FunPlus Phoenix
Hosted by Riot Games, this event will take place offline in Sao Paulo, ranging from 13th February to 4th March. This event will offer some exciting insight into how all the international teams stack up.
Format
With regards to the format, it’s rather simple and very intense.
Indeed, Riot, despite the controversy, has opted for a 32 team single-elimination bracket, with seeding based on regional distribution.
Overall, the 32 teams have been split into 4 brackets which coincide in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals. Notably, all matches except for the BO5 Semifinals and Grand Finals will be BO3.
Here are the opening matches for the single elimination bracket:
- KOI vs NRG
- DetonatioN FM vs Giants
- Gen.G Esports vs LOUD
- FunPlus Phoenix vs Karmine Corp
- BBL Esports vs DRX
- Cloud9 vs Paper Rex
- Evil Geniuses vs Team Heretics
- MIBR vs Talon Esports
- Team Liquid vs Team Secret
- Natus Vincere vs KRU Esports
- ZETA DIVISION vs Leviatan
- Team Vitality vs Global Esports
- FUT Esports vs Rex Regum Qeon
- 100 Thieves vs EDward Gaming
- Sentinels vs Fnatic
- T1 vs FURIA Esports
With one life-line, teams will be giving their all to make it deep into the competition.
Schedule for the VCT 2023: LOCK//IN Sao Paulo
Considering the vast number of matches, we’ll take a look at the opening matches for the first few days in the CET time zone:
February 13th
- KOI vs NRG (18:00)
- DetonatioN FM vs Giants (21:00)
February 14th
- Gen.G Esports vs LOUD (00:00)
- FunPlus Phoenix vs Karmine Corp (18:00)
- BBL Esports vs DRX (21:00)
February 15th
- Cloud9 vs Paper Rex (00:00)
- Evil Geniuses vs Team Heretics (18:00)
- MIBR vs Talon Esports (21:00)
For the remainder of the schedule, we recommend visiting the official VALORANT Esports page here.
Watch the VCT 2023: LOCK//IN Sao Paulo on esportsguide
You can also watch the VCT 2023: LOCK//IN Sao Paulo live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Predictions
Honestly, there’s no VCT event which we can use to predict this event. Accordingly, the last time we saw international competition of this level was at the Red Bull Home Ground #3:
- #1 – 100 Thieves
- #2 – Cloud9
- #3-4 – Team Vitality, KRU Esports
While we can’t surely predict, we do have a suspicion that EMEA will come out on top considering the history of the region.
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