Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) is set to kick off its next era with an epic tournament, LOCK//IN, featuring a total prize pool of $500,000. The tournament, which is set to bring together the entire Valorant community, will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will have 32 teams from EMEA, the Pacific, the Americas, and China competing for the top prize.
Prize Pool Breakdown
The prize pool for the tournament is as follows: $100,000 for the champions, $60,000 for the runners-up, $40,000 for 3rd and 4th place, $25,000 for 5th and 6th place, $10,000 for 9th-16th place, and $5,000 for 17th-32nd place.
Here is the prize money breakdown for the VCT LOCK//IN tournament
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | US$100,000 |
| 2nd | US$60,000 |
| 3rd | US$40,000 |
| 4th | US$40,000 |
| 5th | US$25,000 |
| 6th | US$25,000 |
| 7th | US$25,000 |
| 8th | US$25,000 |
| 9th-16th | US$10,000 |
| 17th-32nd | US$5,000 |
Tournament Format
The tournament will be divided into two sides of the single-elimination bracket, referred to as "Alpha" and "Omega." The top two teams from each group will then move on to the semi-finals, which will be a full-best-of-five series. The first stage of LOCK//IN will feature teams in the Alpha bracket on February 13-19, with the following Omega stage being played on February 22-27. The finals stage come shortly after, set for March 2-4.
Grand Finals and Masters Tokyo
The grand finals of the tournament will feature a prize pool of $160,000, with the champions walking away with $100,000 and an additional slot for their VCT League region at Masters Tokyo. The runners-up will receive $60,000.
The Global Comms Lead for VALORANT Esports, Anton Ferraro, stated in the announcement post, "We wanted to kick off the next era of the VALORANT Champions Tour with an epic tournament that brought together the entire VALORANT community. With LOCK//IN our goal is to lay storytelling groundwork for the 2023 season while thrilling fans with high-stakes competition.”
Overall, the VCT LOCK//IN tournament promises to be an exciting event for Valorant fans, with top teams from around the world competing for a share of the $500,000 prize pool and a chance to qualify for Masters Tokyo. With the tournament format, prize pool breakdown, and the added incentive of a slot at Masters Tokyo, fans can expect thrilling high-stakes competition throughout the tournament.
