The following was sent to Inven Global as a press release.

Riot Games today announced their initial vision to build an esports ecosystem for VALORANT, the competitive 5v5 character-based tactical shooter for the PC which entered Closed Beta on April 7th, 2020. Three core pillars — competitive integrity, accessibility, and authenticity — will guide the growth of the esport to ensure aspiring pro players will have a fair shot to reach the highest level of play through merit-based competition.

To support this initial vision, Riot Games released the VALORANT Community Competition Guidelines — aimed to assist third-party tournament organizers confidently plan events and create opportunities for an amateur scene where new stars can rise up.  Additionally, Riot Games has opened submissions for VALORANT digital products through its developer portal at http://developer.riotgames.com.

Leading up to the Beta launch, the VALORANT esports team led by Whalen Rozelle, Senior Director of Global Esports, has met with more than 100 esports organizations to share their initial vision for esports and collect feedback. “We’re overwhelmed by the initial interest and excitement in VALORANT. We have massive dreams for what this game can be as an esport, and we’re excited to embark on this long esports journey with our players,” said Rozelle.

“Our primary focus early on will be forming partnerships with players, content creators, tournament organizers, and developers —  unlocking them to help us to build the VALORANT ecosystem.”

In addition to VALORANT, Riot Games also is the publisher behind League of Legends Esports, the premier global sport that attracts the attention of millions of fans around the world. There currently are over 800 professional players on more than 100 professional League of Legends Esports teams competing across 12 leagues globally.