UK-based esports tournament provider and esports solutions agency Promod Esports has revealed more information on the newly announced Valorant Regional League (VRL) for Northern Europe.
Promod has been awarded a three-year licence to operate the VRL for Northern Europe, which is known as Polaris. The news comes after Riot Games announced a new structure for Valorant esports in 2022.
VRL Northern Europe: Polaris will have two stages, the first of which will have a €20,000 Prize pool and an invitation to the VCT EMEA Promotion Tournament on the line.
The regional tournament will create a platform for players from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
“We’re humbled to have been chosen by Riot Games to help bridge the gap between casual play and professional through the operation of the VRL Northern Europe: Polaris. Creating opportunities and telling stories is in our DNA here at Promod Esports; we’re looking forward to providing a platform for future world class players to be discovered.”
Rob Black, PromoD esports
Any team with two of their five players from eligible countries will be able to sign up for the open qualifiers, commencing on January 26th and 27th 2022. Details on how teams can sign up for the open qualifiers will be released in the coming weeks across VRL Northern Europe: Polaris social channels.
The top 16 teams will then be invited to compete in the closed qualifiers on January 29th and 30th, which will have a double elimination best-of-three bracket. Finishing in the top eight of the closed qualifiers will earn a team their invitation to the inaugural stage of VRL Northern Europe: Polaris.
The 2022 Season will be divided into two stages, with the first starting on February 14th 2022. Players will be able to earn their place in VRL Northern Europe: Polaris through open qualification.
VRL Northern Europe: Polaris will also provide a direct path into the Valorant Champions Tour, which recently concluded in 2021 with Valorant Champions, won by Acend.
At the end of Stage 1, winners of each VRL will compete in a promotion tournament to enter the EMEA VCT. Other VRLs include Spain, Portugal and Italy, France and Benelux, Poland, Eastern Europe and Israel, CIS, MENA, Turkey and DACH.
Promod’s appointment comes after Promod delivered Icebox regional Valorant tournaments, which were specifically designed for engaging with up and coming players, organisations and on-screen talent.
“Northern Europe already has a hugely inspiring group of talented players at the top level of Valorant,” said Rob Black, founder and CEO of Promod Esports.
“We’re humbled to have been chosen by Riot Games to help bridge the gap between casual play and professional through the operation of the VRL Northern Europe: Polaris. Creating opportunities and telling stories is in our DNA here at Promod Esports; we’re looking forward to providing a platform for future world class players to be discovered.”
The VRL Northern Europe: Polaris open qualifier broadcasts kick off on January 26th 2022 on the Twitch Polaris VRL channel and the YouTube Polaris VRL channel.
Dom is an award-winning writer who graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV as well as Riot Games and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Association up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and as an esports consultant helping brands and businesses better understand the industry.