Riot has given an early look into their vision regarding EMEA Challengers 2024 to VLR.gg, days after unveiling details on the Premier promotion to Challengers.

Earlier this week, Riot outlined how teams may qualify to Challengers leagues via Premier competition. The first Promotion and Relegation Tournament will be hosted sometime after the Premier Stage 2 playoffs conclude in late April.

Today's announcement details the links between the VCT and the Challengers tier of competition in EMEA, as well as reveal some of the key start dates for the region.

Challengers EMEA 2024 Vision & Format Image via Riot Games

Changes made for 2024 Challengers

For 2024, Riot will revisit the points distribution throughout the season, in an effort to reward consistent performances throughout the season. Throughout 2023, several Challengers regions in Europe dished out more points in Stage 2 than in Stage 1. This will change next year, when each league will decide their approach to make Stage 1 stand out in qualification to Ascension.

“Being able to maintain form over a long period of time is a quality found in the best teams and we want to reward those who are able to perform consistently no matter what the season brings their way,” Tomek Borowka, Head of Challengers EMEA, told VLR.gg.

Riot has also lifted the lid on three other big changes that will arrive in 2024: affiliate teams, player loans, and two-way players.

VCT teams can establish an affiliate relationship with an organization that competes outside of the partnered leagues, so long as the VCT and the affiliate team are from the same region. An affiliate relationship won't impede a team from qualifying to Ascension or even a VCT League, but a team that ascends to the VCT will have to terminate their affiliation.

Player loans are getting reworked. Teams in the VCT may loan up to two players to or from the international leagues (Challengers or otherwise). Players that VCT teams loan out will be placed on that team's reserve roster, and may or may not be called back to their original VCT team depending on contract stipulations.

Gentle Mates win EMEA Ascension 2023 Gentle Mates Gentle Mates Europe Rank #9 TakaS Jonathan Paupard beyAz Beyazit Körpe nataNk Nathan Bocqueho Wailers Wailers Locart logaN Logan Corti are a "perfect example" of the tier 2 evolution Riot envision (Photo by Hara Amorós/Riot Games/LVP)

Finally, two-way players are making their debut in 2024. These players will only exist in affiliate relationships, as a two-way player is one that is eligible to compete in both a VCT League and another competition with their respective affiliate team. Two-way players may be placed in the active or reserve roster.

The 2024 rules also cap two-way players at a maximum of two, and specify two-way players who play in 50% or more VCT league matches will reach a “Participation Threshold” barring them from playing for the affiliate team for the remainder of that stage. Finally, if a two-way player starts in a VCT match during any given week, the VCT team is responsible for that player's compensation during that week. If a player is sent down to a secondary team and placed in the reserve roster, they may be paid below the VCT minimum, so long as it's above applicable law.

“From the beginning our mission for Challengers has been to create a platform that supports regional talent and develops the next generation of international players,” Tomek told VLR. “Whilst Challengers and VCT EMEA exist as two distinct layers, they've grown within the same ecosystem and as this evolution continues we expect there to be more frequent crossover.”

Key dates

Today's announcement has also unveiled dates for all but one EMEA Challengers league. The only outlier is Challengers Northern Europe: Polaris, which will be organized by MistGames in 2024 following the closure of Promod Esports.

The EMEA Challengers Leagues will kick off on:

  • VALORANT Challengers Eastern Europe: Surge - January 15
  • VALORANT Challengers Spain: Rising - January 15
  • VALORANT Challengers Portugal: Tempest - January 15
  • VALORANT Challengers Türkiye: Birlik - January 20
  • VALORANT Challengers DACH: Evolution - January 20
  • VALORANT Challengers France: Revolution - January 20
  • VALORANT Challengers Italy: Rinascimento - January 27
  • VALORANT Challengers MENA: Resilience - February 17
  • VALORANT Challengers Northern Europe: Polaris - TBA

Following the first regular seasons, which must be finished by March 20, Stage 1 playoffs will run between early March and mid April. Some months later, immediately after the VCT EMEA playoffs conclude in mid May, Stage 2 will kick off and last through to the end of July. All leagues must be concluded by July 27.

Ascension and 2025

Details on EMEA Ascension are expectedly scarce, with Riot merely unveiling the promotion tournament will be held in September.

Next year will also see the season format changing, as the 2025 season will kick off in the final quarter of 2024.