After a long and arduous journey through the VCT 2022 season, the top 16 teams in the world are finally set to compete in Valorant Champions 2022.
Like last year’s tournament, 10 teams qualified via VCT circuit points earned through Challengers and Masters events. The other six teams in the competition are the winners of their respective regional Last Chance Qualifiers.
With reigning world champions Acend failing to qualify, a new champion will also be crowned in Istanbul. All eyes will be on Masters Copenhagen winners FunPlus Phoenix and Masters Reykajvik 2022 champions OpTic Gaming, both heavy favorites to win it all.
Valorant Champions 2022 will also see the debut of Edward Gaming, the first Chinese team to compete on Valorant’s global stage. The team took the East Asia region by storm, punching their ticket to Istanbul off the back of an incredible 9-0 undefeated streak in the LCQ.
What is Valorant Champions 2022?
Valorant Champions Istanbul is the third and final event of the VCT 2022 season. It is the biggest event of the year and the culminating tournament of the season that all teams have been working toward.
The tournament features 16 of the best Valorant teams from North America, EMEA, Latin America, East Asia, and Asia Pacific.
Valorant Champions 2022 schedule and results
The tournament kicks off with the group stage from August 31 to September 8, followed by the playoffs from September 9 to 18.
Valorant Champions 2022 group stage results and standings
Group A
| STANDING | TEAM | SCORE |
| 1 | Leviatán | 2 — 0 |
| 2 | Team Liquid | 2 — 1 |
| 3 | Paper Rex | 1 — 2 |
| 4 | Edward Gaming | 0 — 2 |
Group B
| STANDING | TEAM | SCORE |
| 1 | OpTic Gaming | 2 — 0 |
| 2 | LOUD | 2 — 1 |
| 3 | Zeta Division | 1 — 2 |
| 4 | BOOM Esports | 0 — 2 |
Group C
| STANDING | TEAM | SCORE |
| 1 | XSET | 2 — 0 |
| 2 | FunPlus Phoenix | 2 — 1 |
| 3 | KRU Esports | 1 — 2 |
| 4 | XERXIA Esports | 0 — 2 |
Group D
| STANDING | TEAM | SCORE |
| 1 | DRX | 2 — 0 |
| 2 | Fnatic | 2 — 1 |
| 3 | 100 Thieves | 1 — 2 |
| 4 | FURIA Esports | 0 — 2 |
Group stage results
August 31
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Paper Rex | 2 — 1 | Edward Gaming |
September 1
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Leviatán | 2 — 0 | Team Liquid |
| Zeta Division | 0 — 2 | LOUD |
| OpTic Gaming | 2 — 1 | BOOM Esports |
September 2
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Paper Rex | 0 — 2 | Leviatán |
| DRX | 2 — 0 | FURIA Esports |
| Fnatic | 1 — 2 | 100 Thieves |
September 3
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| OpTic Gaming | 2 — 1 | LOUD |
| XSET | 2 — 0 | XERXIA Esports |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 2 — 0 | KRU Esports |
September 4
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| DRX | 2 — 0 | 100 Thieves |
| BOOM Esports | 1 — 2 | Zeta Division |
| Edward Gaming | 0 — 2 | Team Liquid |
September 5
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| KRU Esports | 2 — 1 | XERXIA Esports |
| FURIA Esports | 1 — 2 | Fnatic |
September 6
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 1 — 2 | XSET |
September 7
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Paper Rex | 1 — 2 | Team Liquid |
September 8
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| LOUD | 2 — 0 | Zeta Division |
| KRU Esports | 0 — 2 | FunPlus Phoenix |
September 9
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| 100 Thieves | 0 — 2 | Fnatic |
Playoffs
September 9
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Leviatán | 0 — 2 | LOUD |
September 10
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| DRX | 2 — 0 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| OpTic Gaming | 2 — 1 | Team Liquid |
September 11
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| XSET | 2 — 0 | Fnatic |
| Leviatán | 0 — 2 | FunPlus Phoenix |
September 12
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Team Liquid | 0 — 2 | Fnatic |
| LOUD | 2 — 0 | DRX |
September 13
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| OpTic Gaming | 2 — 1 | XSET |
| Fnatic | 1 — 2 | DRX |
September 14
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 2 — 1 | XSET |
Finals
September 16
Upper bracket final
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| LOUD | 2 — 0 | OpTic Gaming |
September 17
Lower bracket semifinal
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| DRX | 2 — 0 | FunPlus Phoenix |
Lower bracket final
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| OpTic Gaming | 3 — 2 | DRX |
September 18
Grand final
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| LOUD | 3 — 1 | OpTic Gaming |
- Final list of APAC franchised teams will supposedly make fans very angry
- Top 5 plays from VCT NA Last Chance Qualifier
Teams competing in Valorant Champions 2022
Unlike in previous Masters tournaments this year, every team in the competition will begin their Valorant Champions 2022 run in the group stage.
No teams will be seeded directly in the playoffs.
| TEAM | REGION |
| OpTic Gaming | North America |
| XSET | North America |
| 100 Thieves | North America |
| FunPlus Phoenix | EMEA (Europe) |
| Fnatic | EMEA (Europe) |
| Team Liquid | EMEA (Europe) |
| Paper Rex | APAC (Singapore/Malaysia) |
| XERXIA Esports | APAC (Thailand) |
| BOOM Esports | APAC (Indonesia) |
| DRX | Korea |
| Zeta Division | Japan |
| Leviatán | Latin America (Argentina) |
| LOUD | Latin America (Brazil) |
| FURIA Esports | Latin America (Brazil) |
| KRU Esports | Latin America (Argentina) |
| Edward Gaming | East Asia (China) |
Valorant Champions 2022 prize pool
(To be updated)
Riot Games has yet to announce the prize pool for the tournament.
Format of Valorant Champions 2022
The tournament begins with a GSL-style group play, followed by an eight-team double elimination bracket. Teams were sectioned into four draw pools based on a combination of their respective final placements at Challengers and Masters events, and the strength of their respective region.
- Pool 1 — OpTic Gaming (North America rank 1), FunPlus Phoenix (EMEA rank 1), DRX (Korea), Paper Rex (APAC rank 1)
- Pool 2 — XSET (North America rank 2), Fnatic (EMEA rank 2), Leviatán (Latin America), Zeta Division (Japan)
- Pool 3 — 100 Thieves (North America LCQ winner), Team Liquid (EMEA LCQ winner), LOUD (Brazil), XERXIA Esports (APAC rank 2)
- Pool 4 — KRU Esports (South America LCQ winner 1), FURIA Esports (South America LCQ winner 2), BOOM Esports (APAC LCQ winner), Edward Gaming (East Asia LCQ winner)
Teams from each pool were randomly drawn into one of the four groups. Teams that were drawn into a group that had squads from the same region were placed into the next alphabetical sequential group.
If they were the final team to be drawn from their pool, and their group already had a squad from the same region, then they were moved back through the groups until they landed on a valid group.
After the group stage, a random draw will seed the Knockout Stage. The four teams that advance out of their group in first place will be randomly assigned a yet-to-be-determined second-place team from a different group.
All matches will play out in a best-of-three format, except for the lower bracket final and the grand final, which will be best-of-five games.
Where to watch Valorant Champions 2022?
Valorant fans can watch the matches live on Riot Games’ official Twitch and YouTube channels:
| CHANNEL | PLATFORM |
| Valorant (English) | Twitch |
| Valorant Esports (Turkish) | Twitch |
| Valorant (Russian) | Twitch |
| Valorant (Dach) | Twitch |
| Valorant (Japan) | Twitch |
| 1pValorant | Twitch |
| agentrange_it (Italy) | Twitch |
| polsatgames (Polish) | Twitch |
| lvpes2 (Spanish) | Twitch |
| valleague_fr (French) | Twitch |
| leetesports (Hungarian) | Twitch |
| leetplus (Hungarian) | Twitch |
| valesports | Twitch |
| esportsfinland (Finnish) | Twitch |
| valorant_kr (Korean) | Twitch |
| valorant_br | Twitch |
| VALORANT_LA | Twitch |
| valorantleague_mena (Arabic) | Twitch |
| Valorant Arabia | YouTube |
| Valorant (English) | YouTube |
| Valorant (Turkish) | YouTube |
| Valorant (Russian) | YouTube |
| Valorant (Arabia) | YouTube |
READ MORE: Teams that left Valorant are kicking themselves after Riot unveils VCT 2023 promotion
