The prize pool for the Europe, Middle East and Africa VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 1 Challengers league has been released by Liquidpedia. The league, which starts play on Feb. 11, will give out about $226,000 in total prize money across all 12 participants.
The top team will earn the top share, at about $44,600, with second earning $33,500 and third taking home about $25,500. Fourth place is the last medaled top placement and the last placement to receive more than $20,000. The rest of the teams competing in the league receive smaller and smaller payouts, with the bottom two relegated teams earning about $9,000 for their participation.
The top three finishers in the league also earn a trip to the VCT Stage 1 Masters event, which begins in April. The league itself ends on March 27.
EMEA Challengers teams vying for the prizemoney
The teams up for the prize money were either invited to the league based on their performance last year (these teams include Fnatic, Gambit Esports, Team Liquid and Acend) or played through open and closed qualifier brackets (those teams include, G2 Esports, Guild Esports, Berlin International Gaming, SuperMassive Blaze, FunPlus Phoenix, LDN UTD, BBL Esports and Natus Vincere).
The qualified teams have been split into two groups for round robin play with the top three teams from each group moving on to the playoff stage. The bottom team from each group will move into a relegation bracket with the top teams from the VALORANT Regional Leagues. The playoff stage will feature a double elimination bracket with a best-of-three format until the grand final which will be a best of five.
The top three teams from the playoffs will qualify for the first masters level event. Stage 1 Masters has yet to have its location revealed, but will feature 12 of the top placing teams from around the world.
