Riot has announced the return of official competition for the CIS region in 2023. The last official league, VRL CIS, was put on hiatus due to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The new circuit, dubbed Challengers CIS, will allow teams represented by at least three players from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia to compete and secure a spot in the EMEA Challengers Ascension tournament.