São Paulo will be playing host to the first VCT tournament of the year.
The VCT LOCK//IN São Paulo is starting this coming Monday, February 13 to March 4 and it will feature the 32 partnered teams for VALORANT's first-ever franchised league. This includes teams from the Americas, EMEA, and the Asia-Pacific as the three main regions.
All the matches will be taking place in front of a live audience at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera indoor arena in São Paulo, Brazil. With a 500,000 USD total prize pool on the line, all 32 teams will be battling for the lion's share of 100,000 USD for the top spot.
But that's not all; the winning team will grant its respective region an additional slot in the upcoming VCT Masters Tokyo happing later this year. Riot Games has also ensured that 50 per cent of the LOCK//IN capsule collection sales will be going towards the VCT-partnered teams.
VCT LOCK//IN - Format & Schedule
The VCT LOCK//IN will be a 32-team single-elimination bracket with each series being a best-of-three whilst the semifinal and grand final matches will be a best-of-five. This means that there is no room for errors without a lower bracket to play for. While the LOCK//IN may feature a single-elimination format, Riot has gone on to say that it will be revisiting double-elimination brackets in future tournaments.
All three regions were split into 16 first-round match-ups with each pairing consisting of two team slots. This was to ensure diverse competition across the board with each region being able to play against one another. A random draw was also designed to ensure no two teams from the same region will be playing against one another.
The first half of the 32-team bracket will play first from February 13 - 19, which will determine the first sets of semifinalists. After two dark days on February 20 and 21, the second half of the bracket will play their matches from February 22 - 27. This is to determine who will be the second batch of semifinalists that will make up the final four of the VCT LOCK//IN.
These are the seven maps that will be used for the tournament: Ascent, Fracture, Haven, Icebox, Lotus, Pearl, and Split.
There will also be a 500,000 USD total prize pool up for grabs with the winning team earning 100,000 USD as well as granting their region an additional slot to the VCT Masters. While it may not seem like much, Riot has ensured that every participating team will still be getting a share of the total prize pool.
- 1st place - $100,000
- 2nd place - $60,000
- 3rd place - $40,000
- 5th - 8th place - $25,000
- 9th - 16th place - $10,000
- 17th - 32nd place - $5,000
VCT LOCK//IN - Participating Teams
These 32 partner teams include some of the biggest names in professional VALORANT since its inception. It features the top 10 teams from its respective regions as well as two invited teams from China.
|
VCT AMERICAS Teams |
VCT EMEA Teams |
VCT PACIFIC Teams |
Invited Teams from China |
|
| |||
|
| |||
The Americas feature some of the biggest talents that will be playing live in São Paulo. This includes North American giants like 100 Thieves, Cloud9, and Sentinels meanwhile the likes of KRÜ Esports and LOUD make up the South American teams. Both Fnatic and Team Liquid remain to be one of the EMEA's biggest threats whilst Paper Rex and Team Secret from Asia-Pacific are hoping to keep their dark horse status and take the tournament by storm.
As for both the Chinese teams like EDward Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix, plenty of eyes will be on them to see just how well they will fare against the rest of the world. FPX will be playing first against Karmine Corp on February 15 while EDG will have to wait for their first series against 100 Thieves on February 24.
VCT LOCK//IN - Teams to look out for
With FPX winning last year's Stage 2 Masters in Copenhagen and LOUD claiming the VCT Champions title last season, both teams will be the ones to beat at this year's LOCK//IN. As mentioned earlier, FPX's game against KC will be one to watch with the Copenhagen winners hoping to claim another title for their trophy cabinet.
As for LOUD, they will be going up against Gen.G and will be the defending champions heading into the tournament. The Bazilian org will not only have the home-ground advantage, but they are also the country's best team to represent them. After finally besting their 2022 rival, OpTic Gaming last year having lost to them in both Masters tournaments, LOUD will probably be the team to watch at the tournament.
Paper Rex is another team that one should keep an eye out for with the Asia-Pacific squad, known for its ultra-aggressive plays. Having placed second and fourth at both Masters tournaments last year, they stumbled during the VCT Champions but the LOCK//IN could prove to be the perfect stepping stone for the team to go on a good run this season.
DRX is another squad from Asia-Pacific that could also have something to prove. The team placed third at last year's Champions and will be hoping to place even higher this year. With the org recently winning the world championship from Riot's other popular esports title, the VALORANT squad already has plenty to live up to.
North America will always have something to say in an international tournament and this year will be no different. Sentinels still have some ways to go before touting themselves as the region's best, despite having a horrible 2022 season. They will be out to prove their franchised status alongside plenty of other NA teams like 100 Thieves, Team Liquid, and FURIA to name a few.
Be sure to catch all the action for the upcoming VCT LOCK//IN from February 13 - March 5, only on the official VALORANT Twitch and YouTube channels.
