2021 Valorant Champions Explained

2021 Valorant Champions
Year:2021
Administrator:Riot Games
Start Date:December 1
End Date:12
Sport:Esports
Game:Valorant
Administrators:Riot Games
Location:Berlin, Germany
Teams:16
Runner-Up1:Gambit Esports
Mvp:Aleksander "zeek" Zygmunt
Next:2022

The 2021 Valorant Champions was an esports tournament for the first-person shooter video game Valorant. It was the first-ever edition of VALORANT Champions, the culmination of Valorant Champions Tour, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer Riot Games. The tournament was held from December 1 to 12 in Berlin, Germany.[1] Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament based on their result via 2021 VALORANT Masters: Stage 3, the regional Circuit Point standings in the year, and the regional Last Chance Qualifiers.

"Die For You" was the tournament's theme song, put together by Grabbitz, while Zedd, and Dabin, produced their own respective remix versions of the theme song.[2]

won the Valorant world championship after defeating Gambit Esports in the finals by a score of 3–2.[3]

Venues

Berlin was the city chosen to host the competition. The Group Stage was held at the Marlene-Dietrich-Halle, while the Semifinals and Finals was held at the Verti Music Hall.

Format

Tournament spots

A total of 16 teams qualified for Champions. The winner of the Stage 3 Masters (Gambit Esports from EMEA) automatically qualified for the event, 11 teams from North America, EMEA, Brazil, Latin America, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia qualified through circuit points, and four teams qualified through four "Last Chance Qualifiers", held in North America (included teams from Oceania), EMEA, South America (Brazil + Latin America) and Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, South Asia and Southeast Asia)

Qualification pathRegions
North AmericaSouth AmericaAsia-Pacific
BrazilLatin AmericaJapanS.KoreaSoutheast Asia
Regional Circuit Points (11 spots)2221112
Last Chance Qualifier (4 spots)1111
VCT Masters Stage 3 champion (1 spot)10
Total (16 spots)4345

Qualified teams

RegionTeamQualified by
North America North America Regional circuit points
Team Envy
North America Last Chance Qualifier
EMEA Stage 3 Masters champion
EMEA Regional circuit points
Fnatic
EMEA Last Chance Qualifier
Brazil Team Vikings Brazil Regional circuit points
Vivo Keyd
FURIA EsportsSouth America Last Chance Qualifier
Latin AmericaKRÜ EsportsLatin America Regional circuit points
Southeast Asia X10 CRITSoutheast Asia Regional circuit points
Team Secret
FULL SENSE Asia-Pacific Last Chance Qualifier
South Korea Vision StrikersKorea Regional circuit points
Japan Crazy Raccoon Japan Regional circuit points

Group stage

The group stage ran from December 1 to 7, 2022.[4] Groups were decided based on teams' achievements in competitions of Valorant Challengers and Valorant Masters, circuit point, and estimated strength for each region.[5] All 16 teams are divided into 4 groups of four teams each playing in a GSL-style double-elimination format. Games were held in a best-of-three series, and only the top two teams in each group qualified for the playoffs.

Brackets

Group A
  • Group B
  • Group C
  • Group D
  • Knockout stage

    The knockout stage began on December 8, culminating in the finals on December 12. Eight teams were drawn into a single-elimination bracket. The top-seeded team of each group was drawn against the second-seeded team of a different group. The teams from same group were on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning they could play each other until the Finals. All matches were best-of-three, except for the finals, which was best-of-five.

    Bracket

    Prize pool

    PlaceTeamGSQFSFFinalsPrize (%)Prize (USD)
    1st2–02–02–03–235%$350,000
    2ndGambit Esports2–02–12–12–315%$150,000
    3rd–4thKRÜ Esports2–12–11–29%$90,000
    Team Liquid2–02–00–2
    5th–8thTeam Secret2–10–24%$40,000
    Cloud9 Blue2–10–2
    X10 CRIT2–11–2
    Fnatic2–01–2
    9th–12thTeam Envy1–22%$20,000
    Sentinels1–2
    Team Vikings1–2
    Vision Strikers1–2
    13th–16thKeyd Stars0–2
    Furia Esports0–2
    Crazy Raccoon0–2
    FULL SENSE0–2

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: VALORANT Champions Returns to Berlin!. November 19, 2021. playvalorant.com. en.
    2. News: ‘Die For You’: The VALORANT Champions Tour 2021 anthem. Upcomer. 22 November 2021. 1 August 2022.
    3. News: Klimentov . Mikhail . Acend wins ‘Valorant’ world championship, defeating Gambit in Berlin . April 24, 2022 . . December 12, 2021.
    4. News: Declan . McLaughlin . How to watch VALORANT Champions . April 24, 2022 . . November 18, 2021.
    5. Web site: Robertson. Scott. November 18, 2021. Groups and format revealed for VCT Champions 2021. November 19, 2021. Dot Esports. en-US.