# 2023 Valorant Champions

The 2023 Valorant Champions was an esports tournament for the video game Valorant. This was the third edition of the Valorant Champions, the crowning event of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) for the 2023 Valorant competitive season. The tournament was held between August 6 and August 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, along with Inglewood, California, United States. Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament based on their result in the regular season leagues, 2023 Masters Tokyo, and the regional Last Chance Qualifiers.
"Ticking Away" was announced as the tournament's theme song, produced, composed and performed by Grabbitz and bbno$.
LOUD were the defending champions, but lost to Evil Geniuses in the lower bracket final.
Evil Geniuses from Americas won the Valorant world championship after defeating Paper Rex from Pacific in the finals by a score of 3–1.

## History

In September 2022, Riot announced the 30 teams partnered for the 2023 Champions Tour. Following the inclusion of the 2023 LOCK//IN event, Riot announced the location of 2023 Champions as Los Angeles.
To promote the event, on July 31, 2023, Riot released the anthem for the tournament, "Ticking Away". The track features artists Grabbitz and bbno$. In coordination with the track release, Riot hosted events across four LA neighborhoods featuring live music, food and livestreaming tournament matches. Additionally, Riot released a number of videos featuring bbno$ as "The Random".
On July 23rd, the sixteen qualified teams were announced by Riot Games.
Junta de Andalucía was announced as the Global English Broadcast Partner on August 7th.

## Venues

Los Angeles and Inglewood were chosen to host the competition. The tournament was held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall for the majority of the tournament, and at the Kia Forum for the top 4 teams on the final three days.
California :
| Los Angeles | Inglewood | Los AngelesInglewood |
| Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall | Kia Forum | Los AngelesInglewood |
| Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles on the opening day of the tournament with spectators. | Kia Forum hosts the final three days of the event. | Los AngelesInglewood |

## Qualified teams

Sixteen teams qualified for the global crowning event of the circuit, with teams either qualifying through their respective league or through Last Chance Qualifiers. The top 3 teams of each league during the playoffs or Masters Tokyo for EMEA immediately qualified for Champions, while the other 4 teams had to battle it out in the Last Chance Qualifiers in their respective regions (EMEA was given additional spot for Last Chance Qualifier runner-up due to Fnatic had won Masters Tokyo). China, although Valorant not officially released yet, is given 3 special spots to participate via a qualifier of third-party host.
Qualified teams for 2023 Valorant Champions :
| League | League | Team | Qualification |
| EMEA | EMEA | Fnatic | Top 3 of EMEA teams in Masters Tokyo |
| EMEA | EMEA | Team Liquid | Top 3 of EMEA teams in Masters Tokyo |
| EMEA | EMEA | FUT Esports | Top 3 of EMEA teams in Masters Tokyo |
| EMEA | EMEA | Giants Gaming | EMEA Last Chance Qualifier winner |
| EMEA | EMEA | Natus Vincere | EMEA Last Chance Qualifier runner-up |
| Americas | Americas | Evil Geniuses | Americas League top 3 |
| Americas | Americas | NRG | Americas League top 3 |
| Americas | Americas | LOUD | Americas League top 3 |
| Americas | Americas | KRÜ Esports | Americas Last Chance Qualifier winner |
| Pacific | Pacific | Paper Rex | Pacific League top 3 |
| Pacific | Pacific | DRX | Pacific League top 3 |
| Pacific | Pacific | T1 | Pacific League top 3 |
| Pacific | Pacific | ZETA DIVISION | Pacific Last Chance Qualifier winner |
| China | China | Edward Gaming | China Qualifier top 3 |
| China | China | Bilibili Gaming | China Qualifier top 3 |
| China | China | FunPlus Phoenix | China Qualifier top 3 |

## Group stage

The group stage took place from August 6 – 13, 2023. All 16 teams were divided into 4 groups of four teams each playing in a GSL-style double-elimination format. Games were held in a best-of-three series. The top 2 teams in each group qualified for the playoffs.

### Draw Rules

16 Teams were drawn into 4 groups of 4 teams. Teams from the same region cannot be placed in the same group. If a team is drawn into the same group as another team from their region, they will be placed in the next valid group with the exception of the EMEA LCQ #2 seed, which was Natus Vincere. Matchups were based on the draw pools, with Pool 1 teams facing Pool 4 teams and Pool 2 teams facing Pool 3 teams in each group. These pools were determined by the performance of teams at Masters Tokyo and the Last Chance Qualifiers.

### Bracket

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its group, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of maps the team won in that match. Teams with map pick/ban choice (i.e., the higher-seeded team or upper-bracket team) are marked by an asterisk.
    Note: Times are in the local time of Los Angeles (PDT) (UTC−7).

#### Group A

| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified |
| August 9 12:00 pm | August 9 12:00 pm | August 9 12:00 pm | | | | | | |
| 1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | | | | |
| 1 | Paper Rex | 2 | August 10 6:00 pm | August 10 6:00 pm | August 10 6:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | KRÜ Esports | 0 | August 10 6:00 pm | August 10 6:00 pm | August 10 6:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | KRÜ Esports | 0 | 1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | |
| August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | 1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | |
| August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | 2 | Edward Gaming | 0 | | | |
| 2 | Edward Gaming | 2 | 2 | Edward Gaming | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Giants Gaming | 1 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Giants Gaming | 1 | | | | A1 | Paper Rex | Paper Rex |
| | | | | | | A2 | Edward Gaming | Edward Gaming |
| Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | A2 | Edward Gaming | Edward Gaming |
| | | | August 13 12:00 pm | August 13 12:00 pm | August 13 12:00 pm | | | |
| August 11 12:00 pm | August 11 12:00 pm | August 11 12:00 pm | 2 | Edward Gaming | 2 | | | |
| 4 | KRÜ Esports | 0 | 3 | Giants Gaming | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Giants Gaming | 2 | | | | | | |

#### Group B

| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified |
| August 7 3:00 pm | August 7 3:00 pm | August 7 3:00 pm | | | | | | |
| 1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | | | | | | |
| 1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | August 8 6:00 pm | August 8 6:00 pm | August 8 6:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | FunPlus Phoenix | 0 | August 8 6:00 pm | August 8 6:00 pm | August 8 6:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | FunPlus Phoenix | 0 | 1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | | | |
| August 7 12:00 pm | August 7 12:00 pm | August 7 12:00 pm | 1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | | | |
| August 7 12:00 pm | August 7 12:00 pm | August 7 12:00 pm | 2 | FUT Esports | 0 | | | |
| 2 | FUT Esports | 2 | 2 | FUT Esports | 0 | | | |
| 3 | T1 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 3 | T1 | 0 | | | | B1 | Evil Geniuses | Evil Geniuses |
| | | | | | | B2 | FUT Esports | FUT Esports |
| Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | B2 | FUT Esports | FUT Esports |
| | | | August 12 3:00 pm | August 12 3:00 pm | August 12 3:00 pm | | | |
| August 10 3:00 pm | August 10 3:00 pm | August 10 3:00 pm | 2 | FUT Esports | 2 | | | |
| 4 | FunPlus Phoenix | 0 | 3 | T1 | 0 | | | |
| 3 | T1 | 2 | | | | | | |

#### Group C

| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified |
| August 8 3:00 pm | August 8 3:00 pm | August 8 3:00 pm | | | | | | |
| 1 | Fnatic | 2 | | | | | | |
| 1 | Fnatic | 2 | August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | ZETA DIVISION | 0 | August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | August 9 3:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | ZETA DIVISION | 0 | 1 | Fnatic | 2 | | | |
| August 8 12:00 pm | August 8 12:00 pm | August 8 12:00 pm | 1 | Fnatic | 2 | | | |
| August 8 12:00 pm | August 8 12:00 pm | August 8 12:00 pm | 3 | Bilibili Gaming | 0 | | | |
| 2 | NRG Esports | 0 | 3 | Bilibili Gaming | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Bilibili Gaming | 2 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Bilibili Gaming | 2 | | | | C1 | Fnatic | Fnatic |
| | | | | | | C2 | Bilibili Gaming | Bilibili Gaming |
| Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | C2 | Bilibili Gaming | Bilibili Gaming |
| | | | August 13 3:00 pm | August 13 3:00 pm | August 13 3:00 pm | | | |
| August 11 3:00 pm | August 11 3:00 pm | August 11 3:00 pm | 3 | Bilibili Gaming | 2 | | | |
| 4 | ZETA DIVISION | 0 | 2 | NRG Esports | 0 | | | |
| 2 | NRG Esports | 2 | | | | | | |

#### Group D

| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Winner's Match | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified |
| August 6 12:00 pm | August 6 12:00 pm | August 6 12:00 pm | | | | | | |
| 1 | Team Liquid | 0 | | | | | | |
| 1 | Team Liquid | 0 | August 7 6:00 pm | August 7 6:00 pm | August 7 6:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | Natus Vincere | 2 | August 7 6:00 pm | August 7 6:00 pm | August 7 6:00 pm | | | |
| 4 | Natus Vincere | 2 | 4 | Natus Vincere | 1 | | | |
| August 6 3:00 pm | August 6 3:00 pm | August 6 3:00 pm | 4 | Natus Vincere | 1 | | | |
| August 6 3:00 pm | August 6 3:00 pm | August 6 3:00 pm | 2 | DRX | 2 | | | |
| 2 | DRX | 2 | 2 | DRX | 2 | | | |
| 3 | LOUD | 1 | | | | | | |
| 3 | LOUD | 1 | | | | D1 | DRX | DRX |
| | | | | | | D2 | LOUD | LOUD |
| Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Elimination Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | Decider Match | D2 | LOUD | LOUD |
| | | | August 12 12:00 pm | August 12 12:00 pm | August 12 12:00 pm | | | |
| August 10 12:00 pm | August 10 12:00 pm | August 10 12:00 pm | 4 | Natus Vincere | 1 | | | |
| 1 | Team Liquid | 0 | 3 | LOUD | 2 | | | |
| 3 | LOUD | 2 | | | | | | |

## Playoffs stage

The Playoffs are a double-elimination tournament that took place from August 16–26, 2022. All matches were a best-of-three series, except for the Lower Bracket Final and the Grand Final, which were a best-of-five series.

### Qualified teams

Eight teams qualified for the double-elimination Playoffs portion of the tournament from the group stage.
Qualified teams for Playoffs :
| Group | Seed 1 | Seed 2 |
| A | Paper Rex | Edward Gaming |
| B | Evil Geniuses | FUT Esports |
| C | Fnatic | Bilibili Gaming |
| D | DRX | LOUD |

### Bracket

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in the bracket, while the numbers on the right indicate the number of maps the team won in that match. Teams with map pick/ban choice (i.e., the higher-seeded or upper-bracket teams) are marked with an asterisk. In cases where teams have the same seed from groups, a coin is flipped to determine which team gets the map pick/ban choice. The teams that won the coin toss are indicated with two asterisks. For the grand finals, the team who advanced from the upper bracket gets to ban the first two maps and have map pick/ban choice.
    Note: Times are in the local time of Los Angeles (PDT) (UTC−7).
| Upper Bracket Quarterfinals | Upper Bracket Quarterfinals | Upper Bracket Quarterfinals | Upper Bracket Semifinals | Upper Bracket Semifinals | Upper Bracket Semifinals | Upper Bracket Final | Upper Bracket Final | Upper Bracket Final | | | | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| August 16 12:00 pm | August 16 12:00 pm | August 16 12:00 pm | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C1 | Fnatic | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C1 | Fnatic | 0 | August 19 3:00 pm | August 19 3:00 pm | August 19 3:00 pm | | | | | | | | | |
| D2 | LOUD | 2 | August 19 3:00 pm | August 19 3:00 pm | August 19 3:00 pm | | | | | | | | | |
| D2 | LOUD | 2 | D2 | LOUD | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| August 16 3:00 pm | August 16 3:00 pm | August 16 3:00 pm | D2 | LOUD | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| August 16 3:00 pm | August 16 3:00 pm | August 16 3:00 pm | A1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| A1 | Paper Rex | 2 | A1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| A1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | | August 24 12:00 pm | August 24 12:00 pm | August 24 12:00 pm | | | | | | |
| B2 | FUT Esports | 0 | | | | August 24 12:00 pm | August 24 12:00 pm | August 24 12:00 pm | | | | | | |
| B2 | FUT Esports | 0 | | | | A1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | | | | |
| August 17 12:00 pm | August 17 12:00 pm | August 17 12:00 pm | | | | A1 | Paper Rex | 2 | | | | | | |
| August 17 12:00 pm | August 17 12:00 pm | August 17 12:00 pm | | | | B1 | Evil Geniuses | 1 | | | | | | |
| D1 | DRX | 2 | | | | B1 | Evil Geniuses | 1 | | | | | | |
| D1 | DRX | 2 | August 19 12:00 pm | August 19 12:00 pm | August 19 12:00 pm | | | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Bilibili Gaming | 0 | August 19 12:00 pm | August 19 12:00 pm | August 19 12:00 pm | | | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Bilibili Gaming | 0 | D1 | DRX | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| August 17 3:00 pm | August 17 3:00 pm | August 17 3:00 pm | D1 | DRX | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| August 17 3:00 pm | August 17 3:00 pm | August 17 3:00 pm | B1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| B1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | B1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | | | | | | | August 26 12:00 pm | August 26 12:00 pm | August 26 12:00 pm |
| A2 | Edward Gaming | 1 | | | | | | | | | | A1 | Paper Rex | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | B1 | Evil Geniuses | 3 |
| Lower Bracket Round 1 | Lower Bracket Round 1 | Lower Bracket Round 1 | Lower Bracket Quarterfinals | Lower Bracket Quarterfinals | Lower Bracket Quarterfinals | Lower Bracket Semifinals | Lower Bracket Semifinals | Lower Bracket Semifinals | Lower Bracket Final | Lower Bracket Final | Lower Bracket Final | |
| | | | August 20 12:00 pm | August 20 12:00 pm | August 20 12:00 pm | | | | | | | | | |
| August 18 12:00 pm | August 18 12:00 pm | August 18 12:00 pm | D1 | DRX | 1 | | | | August 25 12:00 pm | August 25 12:00 pm | August 25 12:00 pm | | | |
| C1 | Fnatic | 2 | C1 | Fnatic | 2 | August 24 3:00 pm | August 24 3:00 pm | August 24 3:00 pm | B1 | Evil Geniuses | 3 | |
| B2 | FUT Esports | 0 | | | | C1 | Fnatic | 1 | D2 | LOUD | 2 | |
| | | | August 20 3:00 pm | August 20 3:00 pm | August 20 3:00 pm | D2 | LOUD | 2 | | | | | | |
| August 18 3:00 pm | August 18 3:00 pm | August 18 3:00 pm | D2 | LOUD | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Bilibili Gaming | 1 | A2 | Edward Gaming | 1 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Edward Gaming | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Prize pool

Riot Games raised the prize pool for the 2023 Champions tournament to $2.25 million, an increase from the $1 million of 2022. The winner of Champions received $1 million.
| Place | Team | Prize (USD) |
| 1st | Evil Geniuses | $1,000,000 |
| 2nd | Paper Rex | $400,000 |
| 3rd | LOUD | $250,000 |
| 4th | Fnatic | $130,000 |
| 5th–6th | DRX | $85,000 |
| 5th–6th | Edward Gaming | $85,000 |
| 7th–8th | Bilibili Gaming | $50,000 |
| 7th–8th | FUT Esports | $50,000 |
| 9th–12th | Natus Vincere | $30,000 |
| 9th–12th | T1 | $30,000 |
| 9th–12th | NRG Esports | $30,000 |
| 9th–12th | Giants Gaming | $30,000 |
| 13th–16th | KRÜ Esports | $20,000 |
| 13th–16th | FunPlus Phoenix | $20,000 |
| 13th–16th | ZETA DIVISION | $20,000 |
| 13th–16th | Team Liquid | $20,000 |