Valorant pro players association was reportedly created in North America

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According to Dot Esports, professional Valorant players from North America have created their own association, which will develop the esports scene together with Riot Games. The association includes about 30 players, coaches, and influential figures in the pro gaming community. Their ranks include dazzle, vanity, AYRIN, steel, and others.

The association will be focused on upholding the rights of players and teams that will participate in the Riot Games partner program. The developers themselves reacted positively to this initiative: the company announced that it would provide all possible support to the association and would meet with its members once every two weeks to discuss the ongoing issues and proposals. At the same time, the developers do not plan to support the association financially.

Vanity | Source: Carlton Beener, ESL

Riot Games previously announced that it plans to remake the Valorant professional scene into a partner league format in 2023. Partner leagues are similar to franchise leagues in League of Legends (like LEC, LCK, LPL, etc.), but teams do not have to buy slots to participate in them. Participants will be determined after their applications have been submitted and approved by Riot Games. What criteria are set for candidates is unknown. Presumably, priority will be given to the rosters of eminent and financially stable clubs with good media presence. Additionally, it is very important for Riot that the players and teams were formalized, had legal contracts, etc.

So far, Riot Games plans to create three partner leagues with a nominal division into America, Europe, and Asia. Each league will include several regions. For example, the American region will include teams from North America, Latin America, and Brazil. Teams from Europe, Russia, Turkey, and MENA will play as part of the European region, and teams from Southeast Asia, South Korea, Japan, South Asia, and Oceania will play in the Asian region. It is the teams from partner leagues that will qualify for the Challengers and Masters series tournaments, as well as for the world championships. Riot Games will also develop national leagues (for France, Spain, etc.), which will have a lower status than partner leagues and will serve as a sort of hub for the development of talented newcomers.

It was the restructuring of the esports scene to a new format that prompted pro Valorant players to found their own association. Its first task will be to control the saturation of the tier-2 scene in the regions. Association members fear that there may be a shortage of teams in partner leagues due to the transition to a new format. On the other hand, some clubs have already begun to abandon Valorant rosters, as they will not be able to meet the Riot Games criteria for the major leagues. Probably the player association and Riot will try to find some balance that will satisfy all the representatives of the scene.

It should be noted that there are similar associations of e-athletes in other disciplines. For example, in League of Legends, the NALCS is responsible for protecting the rights of players, and in CS:GO, these duties are performed by the CSPPA association.