2021 Valorant Champions
2021
Tournament information
GameValorant
LocationBerlin
DatesDecember 1–12
AdministratorsRiot Games
Tournament
format(s)
2 stages
  • Group stage: Double elimination bracket
  • Knock-out stage: Single elimination bracket
Host(s) Germany
Venue(s)
2 (in Berlin)
  • Marlene-Dietrich-Halle
    (Group stage & Quarterfinals)
  • Verti Music Hall
    (Semifinals & Finals)
Teams16
PurseUS$1,000,000
Final positions
ChampionsAcend
Runner-upGambit Esports
MVPAleksander "zeek" Zygmunt (Acend)
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]

Acend 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.

Berlin, Germany
Group Stage Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Marlene-Dietrich-Halle 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 path Regions
EMEA[a] North America[b] South America Asia-Pacific[c]
Brazil Latin America[d] Japan S.Korea Southeast Asia[e]
Regional Circuit Points (11 spots) 2 2 2 1 1 1 2
Last Chance Qualifier (4 spots) 1 1 1 1
VCT Masters Stage 3 champion (1 spot) 1 0
Total (16 spots) 4 3 4 5

Qualified teams

Region Team Qualified by
North America Sentinels North America Regional circuit points
Team Envy
Cloud9 [f] North America Last Chance Qualifier
EMEA Gambit Esports Stage 3 Masters champion
Acend EMEA Regional circuit points
Fnatic
Team Liquid EMEA Last Chance Qualifier
Brazil Team Vikings Brazil Regional circuit points
Vivo Keyd
FURIA Esports South America Last Chance Qualifier
Latin America KRÜ Esports Latin America Regional circuit points
Southeast Asia X10 CRIT[g] Southeast Asia Regional circuit points
Team Secret[h]
FULL SENSE Asia-Pacific Last Chance Qualifier
South Korea Vision Strikers Korea 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
Upper round 1Upper final
Acend2
Vivo Keyd1
Acend2
Team Envy0
Team Envy2
X10 CRIT0
Lower round 1Lower final
Team Envy1
Vivo Keyd0X10 CRIT2
X10 CRIT2
Group B
Upper round 1Upper final
Sentinels2
FURIA Esports1
Sentinels1
Team Liquid2
KRÜ Esports0
Team Liquid2
Lower round 1Lower final
Sentinels1
FURIA Esports1KRÜ Esports2
KRÜ Esports2
Group C
Upper round 1Upper final
Gambit Esports2
Team Secret1
Gambit Esports2
Team Vikings1
Team Vikings2
Crazy Raccoon0
Lower round 1Lower final
Team Vikings0
Team Secret2Team Secret2
Crazy Raccoon0
Group D
Upper round 1Upper final
Vision Strikers2
FULL SENSE0
Vision Strikers1
Fnatic2
Fnatic2
Cloud91
Lower round 1Lower final
Vision Strikers1
FULL SENSE0Cloud92
Cloud92

Knockout stage

The knockout stage began on December 8, culminating in the finals on December 12.[4] 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.[citation needed]

Bracket

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
A1Acend2
C2Team Secret0
Acend2
Team Liquid0
B1Team Liquid2
D2Cloud90
Acend3
Gambit Esports2
C1Gambit Esports2
A2X10 CRIT1
Gambit Esports2
KRÜ Esports1
D1Fnatic1
B2KRÜ Esports2

Prize pool

Place Team GS QF SF Finals Prize (%) Prize (USD)
1st Acend 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–2 35% $350,000
2nd Gambit Esports 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–3 15% $150,000
3rd–4th KRÜ Esports 2–1 2–1 1–2 9% $90,000
Team Liquid 2–0 2–0 0–2
5th–8th Team Secret 2–1 0–2 4% $40,000
Cloud9 Blue 2–1 0–2
X10 CRIT 2–1 1–2
Fnatic 2–0 1–2
9th–12th Team Envy 1–2 2% $20,000
Sentinels 1–2
Team Vikings 1–2
Vision Strikers 1–2
13th–16th Keyd Stars 0–2
Furia Esports 0–2
Crazy Raccoon 0–2
FULL SENSE 0–2

References

  1. ^ "VALORANT Champions Returns to Berlin!". playvalorant.com. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "'Die For You': The VALORANT Champions Tour 2021 anthem". Upcomer. November 22, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  3. ^ Klimentov, Mikhail (December 12, 2021). "Acend wins 'Valorant' world championship, defeating Gambit in Berlin". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Declan, McLaughlin (November 18, 2021). "How to watch VALORANT Champions". Upcomer. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Robertson, Scott (November 18, 2021). "Groups and format revealed for VCT Champions 2021". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 19, 2021.

Notes

  1. ^ Regional Circuit Points is available only for teams from Europe, CIS and Turkey. Teams from MENA could only compete in Last Chance Qualifier.
  2. ^ Regional Circuit Points was not available for teams from Oceania due to no have Challangers competitions hosted by Riot Games at here. They could only compete in Last Chance Qualifier with teams from North America, and later withdrew due to travel issue in COVID-19 pandemic.
  3. ^ Regional Circuit Points was not available for teams from China and South Asia due to no have Challangers competitions hosted by Riot Games. Teams from China and South Asia could only compete in APAC Last Chance Qualifier.
  4. ^ Latin America has 2 sub-regions LATAM North and LATAM South.
  5. ^ Including teams from sub-regions Indonesia, Malaysia+Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan+Hong Kong.
  6. ^ Cloud9 had previously competed in North America Challengers as "Cloud9 Blue".
  7. ^ X10 CRIT had previously competed in Southeast Asia Challengers as "X10 Esports" before changing their name due to sponsorship reasons.
  8. ^ Team Secret acquired rosters and spot from Bren Esports before the event.
Categories