VALORANT Champions 2023: Location, dates, and how to watch

Brandon Moore

Brandon Moore

VALORANT Champions 2023 takes place in Los Angeles, California and esports.gg has everything you need to know about the tournament.

The VALORANT Champions Tour is the flagship competitive circuit for the Riot Games first-person shooter. In its third year, with two prior world champions crowned, much has changed with the addition of partnered organizations and leagues. And it will all culminate with VALORANT Champions 2023.

The announcement of this year's location took place near the tail end of VCT LOCK//IN. Gekko, Agent 22, was introduced and hails from Los Angeles, California. That fact is how Riot Games revealed that VALORANT Champions 2023 will be live from his hometown, the VCT Americas hub city of angels.

VALORANT Champions 2023 expands the esport's global presence

(Image via Riot Games)
(Image via Riot Games)

When VALORANT Champions 2023 commences, the VCT will have held an international tournament in seven different countries. From the first of 2021 in Iceland to the last of 2023 in the United States, VALORANT's global reach is notably massive.

The finale will see 16 teams from all over the world fight to be the best in this new era of competitive VALORANT. With a peak of over 1.5 million viewers during Champions 2022 in Istanbul, the hopes are that the 2023 iteration blows that out of the water and showcase the force that the game is becoming as an esport.

Qualified teams

(Image via Riot Games)
(Image via Riot Games)

VALORANT Champions 2023 has 16 slots divided across the three International Leagues and China. Each International League determines three representatives for their respective region. An additional team from each league joins the fray by winning that region's Last Chance Qualifier.

The three teams from China were in a Champions CN Qualifier. And the final slot to round out the field goes to the region that won Masters Tokyo. EMEA earned themselves a fifth slot with a FNATIC victory.

Here is each team locked in for Champions:

  • DRX (Pacific)
  • Paper Rex (Pacific)
  • T1 (Pacific)
  • ZETA Division (Pacific LCQ)
  • LOUD (Americas)
  • NRG (Americas)
  • Evil Geniuses (Americas)
  • KRÜ Esports (Americas LCQ)
  • Team Liquid (EMEA)
  • FNATIC (EMEA)
  • FUT Esports (EMEA)
  • Giants Gaming (EMEA LCQ)
  • Natus Vincere (EMEA LCQ)
  • Bilibili Gaming (China)
  • EDward Gaming (China)
  • FunPlus Phoenix (China)

Where is VALORANT Champions 2023?

As mentioned, the tournament is taking place in Los Angeles, California. This is the hub city for the VCT Americas League and the first international VALORANT tournament in the United States. The early rounds will be held in the Shrine Auditorium while the final rounds will play out at the Kia Forum.

(Image via Riot Games)
(Image via Riot Games)

VALORANT Champions 2023 schedule

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VALORANT Champions 2023 takes place in August. The majority of the tournament will happen between Aug. 6 and Aug. 20 at the Shrine Auditorium. The final leg at the Kia Forum will occur from Aug. 24 to Aug. 26. You'll find the exact dates and times of the matches in the images above.

How to watch

Tickets will eventually go on sale for those who want to catch VALORANT Champions 2023 live. Everyone else can stick to the live streams. The official VALORANT channels on Twitch and YouTube will have all the action.

There will also be streams in a variety of languages and watch parties hosted by your favorite content creators, streamers, and pro players. You really do have your pick when it comes to enjoying the championship tournament.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and updates on VALORANT Champions 2023.