What is VALORANT Premier? How to play, team creation, and more
Test your team’s skill in the new competitive game mode.
Image via Riot Games
Competition is at the heart of VALORANT gameplay since two teams must work to best their opponents. Players can already compete against similarly skilled opponents in the ranked playlist, but some dedicated teams have made it clear that they want a more competitive environment. The new Premier game mode will fill this role, providing a tournament system for dedicated teams.
The VALORANT Premier game mode serves as a new path-to-pro mode allowing players to build a five-person team to compete in a more competitive environment than the traditional ranked mode. Eventually, Premier will become the entry point to professional VALORANT and will replace open qualifiers for VCT Challengers events.
When does Premier launch in VALORANT?
Premier mode will be available to participate in via the Ignition phase; the final test phase before launch. Enrollment will open July 21 and run until July 20, weekly matches will run from July 20 until August 12, with a final playoff bracket for each skill division taking place on August 13. Your team, match history, and Premier MMR will transfer over to stage one of Premier when it launches.
Finally, Premier will launch in full following the conclusion of VCT Champions 2023 in late August.
How to play Premier in VALORANT
Players will be able to access Premier from the main menu of VALORANT under the Play button.
To play Premier, players must verify their accounts via SMS verification, have an account that is in good standing with Riot, and have finished rank placements at least once during their account’s lifetime.
Related: Head of VALORANT esports confirms in-game Premier system will eventually replace VCT open qualifiers
During a Premier season, teams will play up to weekly matches during the weekly queue window on a featured map. Queue windows are zone-specific. Teams will earn 100 points for a win, 25 for a loss, and no points if they do not play. Teams with at least 375 points earned will qualify for the tournament at the end of the season. Each playoff bracket consists of eight teams.
How to join or create a team in Premier mode in VALORANT
Prior to the start of weekly matches during a season (or during the beta phase), there will be an enrollment period for players to form teams. Players can either create their own team of between five and seven players or join an existing team. If you miss enrollment, you cannot play during the season. New players can be added during the season, provided they do not cause the team to change skill divisions.
There are no rank restrictions for players on a team; a team with players all at similar ranks or completely different ranks will be placed in a skill division based on the MMR of the top five players of a team. During enrollment, teams must also select their regional zone to compete in and will be given recommendations based on the lowest average server latency.
About the author
Jalen Lopez
Freelance Writer with over three years of experience at Dot Esports. Mainly covers VALORANT, Call of Duty and other FPS titles.
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