Today, Riot Games informed esports organizations and their teams of franchise spots for the upcoming Valorant Champions Tour. Sports Business Journal can confirm that two popular esports organizations, OpTic Gaming and G2, will not be invited to the series’ inaugural season.
Riot Games has not commented on this report.
OpTic Gaming, who just finished second in the Valorant Champions Tour grand final (losing to Brazilian team Loud), just missed the cut. Sources told SBJ that Riot gave OpTic no reason why it didn’t make the league, and OpTic did not comment on our report.
G2, the Spanish esports organization that also has offices in New York, was one of the main contenders to receive a franchise spot, but after G2 CEO Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez posted a video of himself partying with known misogynist Andrew Tate, the league simply couldn’t invite the team to compete.
As part of the franchise application process, teams submitted packages to Riot outlining social media metrics and financial readiness. Additionally, some teams were then invited for interviews with league officials to determine if they were a good fit.
As it stands, SBJ has confirmed with sources that the following teams have spots in the Americas division of the league:
- Cloud9 (North America)
- NRG Esports (North America)
- Sentinels (North America)
Teams that may have been invited but not yet confirmed include:
- 100 Thieves (North America)
- Furia (Brazil)
- Strong (Brazil)