Four teams remain and the prospect of a spot in VCT EMEA 2024 looms large. Gentle Mates, Acend, SAW and Apeks have all got an eye on that alluring prize but before we get to that, let’s reflect on the season to remember how we got to this point. We sat down with Tomek Borowka, EMEA Challengers League Product Lead, to get his thoughts on how the Challenger Leagues have fared this year, and what we can expect in the future as Ascension reaches its conclusion.
Which Challenger League has stood out for you the most this season?
It’s incredibly hard to choose as we’ve seen such strong showings throughout the leagues this season and there have been some seriously consistent performers across the splits. The end of season finals were absolutely electric with the finales of Spain, Italy, Portugal and Northern Europe standing out in particular. There was so much high level gameplay taking place it was a challenge to keep up, though I did follow the games where I could! One of the biggest testaments to the intense rivalries we’ve seen develop across the regions this season was the matchup in France between Joblife and Gentle Mates that had everyone on the edge of their seats. At one point, this matchup had 171K fans watching and it shows how relentless they’ve been with their support this season.
How have the two new Challenger Leagues (Portugal & Italy) fared? Do you think they’ve held their own?
I don’t think I could have expected more from either league this season. Both have hit the ground running in their inaugural season and shown the other leagues that they’re not just playing for fun. Some great teams have surfaced in both leagues and the progression across these first two splits has been noticeable. The GTZ and SAW rosters have looked especially strong and they’ve proven the other leagues wrong if they had any thoughts of Portugal being a pushover. Italy hasn’t been slacking either, DSYRE and GMT have shown up continuously across the splits and will no doubt push each other all the way again next season. While both regions were represented in the Spain Rising League last year, they’ve already demonstrated their ability to stand on their own two feet and hit back at whatever is thrown at them. I don’t think we’ll be waiting long for a team from these countries to appear in VCT EMEA.
Many of the leagues have seen different winners over the course of the two Stages this season, did you expect to see this level of competitiveness?
Knowing how dedicated each of these teams are and the amount of hours they put into preparation and training, it really hasn’t come as a surprise. The teams within each league know what the others are capable of and have had to maintain a high standard of performance to keep up. Speaking to some of the teams, I’ve had it repeated to me time and again how their fan bases have thrived off how heated the competition has been. Despite MOUZ finishing first in both splits of the DACH regular season, CGN Esports have managed to pull it together twice in the region’s playoffs to emerge victorious. The pecking order isn’t established in any of the leagues and they’re continually spurring each other on to keep up. It’s a clear sign of progression for the professionalisation of the Challengers circuit as they all fight to reach the next tier.
For some players, this will be the first time they will be playing not only in-person but in front of a studio audience. Do you think this will affect the way they play and will they be able to hold their nerve?
100%, I think it would be impossible for it not to. The Playoffs will demand everything of these players as they’ll have to adapt to a completely new environment and deal with the noises, the lights and the fans all at once. Playing at the Coliseum is so different from getting in the zone in your normal environment, be it your own room or at your team HQ. There is no home advantage and all eyes will be on you from the minute you step out on stage until that final spike detonation or defuse. It’s unlike anything they would have ever experienced before, as it’s so intimate - the roaring fans almost engulf the Coliseum with their energy and it can feel as though they’re cheering you on from behind your shoulder. It’s impossible for these added stimuli to do anything but energise them to perform to the best of their ability. These final few days are the pinnacle of what they’ve been building to all season and, with the prospect of the winner moving onto VCT EMEA, the stakes could not be higher.
There is still a long way to go but what will winning VCT Ascension EMEA mean for the team that comes out on top?
It can’t be overstated how much of a difference it would make to the eventual winner. As much progress as they’ve made so far you could liken this step up to them starting their journey all over again. You only need to look to last season for a great example in FUT Esports. In the space of 12 months they’ve gone from winning the VALORANT Regional League Finals to qualifying for Champions and absolutely no one can doubt their credentials. Competing in VCT EMEA is the prize but the journey is just as enriching. It will take a great amount of resilience, but there are so many lessons from battling through their Challenger League that will help them grow as a team. It’s important not to forget the effect winning will have on the rest of the community who will see their success as something to aspire for. While most Challenger teams will have seen the winner as a rival this season, I’m sure they’ll be cheering them on next year and hoping they can disrupt the teams already in VCT EMEA 2024 who might be just a little too comfortable.
The eventual winner of VCT Ascension EMEA will be promoted to VCT EMEA next season, do you think the talent is there to upset some of the teams at the top?
Without a shadow of a doubt, there is already so much talent in Challengers that is not only ready but figuratively screaming to take the next step. I’ll probably go hoarse before I could name them all but FOKUS’ “YaBoiLewis”, Apeks’ “Keiko”, S2G’s “russ” and Gentle Mates’ “logaN” have all put in great performances in recent matches. While we’ve already seen a whole lot of love from the Challenger teams’ fans following Ascension there’s no doubt some of the VCT EMEA teams have also been keeping a close watch. As the tournament progresses they’ll be assessing who can perform within high-pressure environments and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a few “new” faces in VCT EMEA rosters next season.
To close, what lessons have you learned from this season of Challengers and will it affect what we can expect to see next season?
One thing we’ve learnt, if it wasn’t apparent already, is how essential Challengers are to the VALORANT esports ecosystem and the vital role it plays in nurturing upcoming talent. We are still so early in our journey, but in this time we’ve seen the different regions grow so much and take on their own personalities. We’ve seen varying levels of engagement and viewership across the leagues but given how complex EMEA is and the unique priorities each region has, this doesn’t come as a surprise. One of our ongoing goals is to keep Challengers exciting as a path to pro that remains high-stakes throughout and there are takeaways from this season that will be more apparent when next year begins. As we continue to shape it, the Challengers ecosystem will adapt to continue to enrich teams and bring as much excitement to fans as possible.