When Riot Games announced the launch of a new franchised structure for Valorant’s competitive scene consisting of thirty, it left many wondering what would happen to the teams that didn’t make the selection process. Thankfully, the publisher had those outliers in mind, reinvigorating the Tiers 2 scene with a new ‘Challengers League’ that offers a healthy ecosystem for these best-of-the-rest teams to compete in.
With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about Valorant’s North American Challengers, including all teams participating, the schedule, results, and standings. This article will be kept updated throughout the season.
Valorant North American Challengers Explained
At its core, Valorant Challengers serves as an open circuit method for signed and unsigned teams to compete and possibly make it to the higher stages of Valorant competitive play. In the past, it created some memorable moments as players like Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, and many more took a shot at competing in Valorant.
However, this year is the first year of franchised structure in Valorant’s competitive scene. Thirty teams are spread out across three regions at the highest level of play, and while Challengers will still retain the open structure nature, it’s been restructured to become a pathway to ascend to the franchised leagues.
Twelve teams make up the Challengers’ scene, with six teams personally invited by Riot Games, while six others fought through an open circuit competition and Last Chance Qualifier in January to complete the twelve-team NA Challengers League. In conjunction with the Pittsburgh Knights, the Challengers scene will showcase the twelve teams battling for an opportunity to make the franchised league in something called the Ascension Tournament. When this tournament starts, two of the top teams from NA’s circuit will battle against Challengers teams from other regions to make their respective franchised league in 2024.
How to Watch Valorant NA Challengers
For North America, the matchups are streamed on the Valorant Twitch or YouTube channels. They are also open for co-streaming with big names such as Tarik and many more tuning in to watch the matches on their respective streaming channels.
NA Valorant Challengers 2023 Groups and Standings
Group A
| Position | Team | Record | VCL Circuit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | G2 Esports | 4-1 | 15 (Split 1) |
| 2nd | Moist Moguls | 3-2 | 11 (Split 1) |
| 3rd | Oxygen Esports | 3-2 | 10 (Split 1) |
| 4th | Turtle Troop | 2-3 | 5 (Split 1) |
| 5th | FaZe Clan | 2-3 | 8 (Split 1) |
| 6th | Shopify Rebellion | 1-4 | 4 (Split 1) |
Group B
| Position | Team | Record | VCL Circuit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | M80 | 4-1 | 20 (Split 1) |
| 2nd | The Guard | 4-1 | 18 (Split 1) |
| 3rd | TSM | 4-1 | 13 (Split 1) |
| 4th | Disguised | 2-3 | 7 (Split 1) |
| 5th | MAD Lions | 1-4 | 2 (Split 1) |
| 6th | OREsports | 0-5 | 1 (Split 1) |
NA Challengers Split 1 Mid-Season Face-Off Bracket
With the first split complete, the Mid-Season Face-Off will start, featuring the top eight teams in the standings, four from each group. This tournament begins March 22 at 4 pm EST, runs until April 1, and features a double-elimination bracket. The matchups are as follows:
Upper Bracket Quarterfinals
- M80 vs. Disguised, March 22, 4 pm EST
- TSM vs. Moist Moguls, March 22, 7 pm EST
- The Guard vs. FaZe Clan, March 23, 4 pm EST
- G2 Esports vs. Oxygen Esports, March 23, 7 pm EST
NA Challengers Matchups and Results – Split 1
Challengers is separated into two splits, consisting of five weeks of round-robin matchups, where the twelve teams split into two groups of six. The top four teams from each group are invited to the Mid-Season Face-Off: a smaller tournament to break up the splits. Winning is key, as teams earn circuit points that’ll help them qualify for playoffs at the end of the splits, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Ascension Tournament.
The first split runs Feb. 1 until March 17 and is now complete with the results of the matches listed below:
Group A
- G2 Esports 4-1
- Week 1: 2-1 win over FaZe Clan
- Week 2: 2-1 win over Team BreakThru (Moist Moguls)
- Week 3: 2-0 win over Oxygen Esports
- Week 4: 0-2 loss against Turtle Troop
- Week 5: 2-0 win over Shopify Rebellion
- FaZe Clan 2-3
- Week 1: 1-2 loss against G2 Esports
- Week 2: 2-1 win over Turtle Troop
- Week 3: 2-1 win over Shopify Rebellion
- Week 4: 0-2 loss against Oxygen Esports
- Week 5: 0-2 loss against Moist Moguls
- Turtle Troop 2-3
- Week 1: 2-0 loss against Shopify Rebellion
- Week 2: 2-1 loss against FaZe Clan
- Week 3: 2-0 win over Moist Moguls
- Week 4: 2-0 win over G2 Esports
- Week 5: 1-2 loss against Oxygen Esports
- Shopify Rebellion 1-4
- Week 1: 2-0 win over Turtle Troop
- Week 2: 1-2 loss against Oxygen Esports
- Week 3: 1-2 loss against FaZe Clan
- Week 4: 1-2 loss against Moist Moguls
- Week 5: 0-2 loss against G2 Esports
- Moist Moguls 3-2
- Week 1: 2-0 win over Oxygen Esports
- Week 2: 2-1 loss against G2 Esports
- Week 3: 2-0 loss against Turtle Troop (first official match as Moist Moguls)
- Week 4: 2-1 win over Shopify Rebellion
- Week 5: 2-0 win over FaZe Clan
- Oxygen Esports 3-2
- Week 1: 2-0 loss against Moist Moguls
- Week 2: 2-1 win over Shopify Rebellion
- Week 3: 2-0 loss against G2 Esports
- Week 4: 2-0 win over FaZe Clan
- Week 5: 2-1 win over Turtle Troop
Group B
- M80 4-1
- Week 1: 2-1 win over OREsports
- Week 2: 2-0 win over TSM
- Week 3: 2-0 win over MAD Lions
- Week 4: 2-0 win over Disguised
- Week 5: 0-2 loss against The Guard
- The Guard 4-1
- Week 1: 2-0 win over Disguised
- Week 2: 2-0 win over OREsports
- Week 3: 0-2 loss against TSM
- Week 4: 2-0 win over MAD Lions
- Week 5: 2-0 win over M80
- TSM 4-1
- Week 1: 2-1 win over MAD Lions
- Week 2: 0-2 loss against M80
- Week 3: 2-0 win over The Guard
- Week 4: 2-0 win over OREsports
- Week 5: 2-1 win over Disguised
- Disguised 2-3
- Week 1: 0-2 loss against The Guard
- Week 2: 2-0 win over MAD Lions
- Week 3: 2-1 win OREsports
- Week 4: 0-2 loss against M80
- Week 5: 1-2 loss against TSM
- MAD Lions 1-4
- Week 1: 1-2 loss against TSM
- Week 2: 0-2 loss against Disguised
- Week 3: 0-2 loss against M80
- Week 4: 0-2 loss against The Guard
- Week 5: 2-1 win over OREsports
- OREsports 0-5
- Week 1: 1-2 loss against M80
- Week 2: 0-2 loss against The Guard
- Week 3: 1-2 loss against Disguised
- Week 4: 0-2 loss against TSM
- Week 5: 1-2 loss against MAD Lions
All Challengers Teams & Rosters Overview
G2 Esports (Invited)
One of the six teams invited by Riot Games, G2 Esports managed to snag a spot in North America after failing to secure a partnership spots. This roster is comprised of some big names from various NA teams and one young gun looking to prove himself after grinding through smaller tournaments in the past.
G2 Roster
- Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan
- Michael “dapr” Gulino
- Maxim “wippie” Shepelev
- Erik “penny” Penny
- Francis “OXY” Hoang
FaZe Clan (Invited)
The second team to receive a direct invite FaZe Clan was also denied partnership into the franchised league. The team’s roster mostly remains the same compared to what FaZe had in last year’s Last Chance Qualifier run for Champions, where they, unfortunately, were knocked out by 100 Thieves.
FaZe Clan Roster
- Andrej “babybay” Francisty
- Quan “dicey” Tran
- Phat “supamen” Le
- Kevin “poised” Ngo
- Daniel “Rossy” Abedrabbo
Turtle Troop (Last Chance Qualifier)
Originally called Squirtle Squad, until Nintendo made them change their names due to trademark issues, Turtle Troop qualified for the Challenger’s circuit through the Last Chance Qualifier, beating OREsports 2-0. Currently, Turtle Troop is unsigned to an official team, as the members are free agents, but there is a rumor circling that well-known streamer, xQc, may purchase this team and sign them, marking the third big-name personality to enter the Valorant Challengers scene.
Turtle Troop Roster
- Jack “Add3r” Hayashi
- Peter “Governor” No
- Matthew “Wedid” Suchan
- Anthony “mummAy” DiPaolo
- Tanner “TiGG” Spanu
Shopify Rebellion (Invited)
By now, this team’s story is well-known. For the newcomers, Shopify Rebellion is the former Luminosity Gaming team that was released midseason last year after the latter organization exited the scene. Shopify Rebellion is the new home for the players, whose roster mostly remains intact after a solid showing in last year’s Challengers tour. Shopify was the third team to be directly invited to the Challengers League.
Shopify Rebellion Roster
- Adam “mada” Pampuch
- Will “dazzLe” Loafman
- Brandon Michael “bdog” Sanders
- Kaleb “moose” Jayne
- Victor “v1c” Truong
Moist Moguls (Open Qualifiers)
Formerly known as Team BreakThru, well-known creators, MoistCr1TiKaL and Ludwig signed Team BreakThru to Moist Esports and rebranded the team name to Moist Moguls. This team qualified for the Challengers League in their open bracket run with a 2-1 victory over the stacked team, The Nation.
Moist Moguls Roster
- Alex “aproto” Protopapas
- Brock “brawk” Somerhalder
- Xavier “flyuh” Carlson
- Tyler “sym” Porter
- Brady “thief” Dever
Oxygen Esports (Open Qualifiers)
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Oxygen Esports has made a name for itself in many other esports titles, such as Gears of War, Apex Legends, and Rocket League. Oxygen qualified through the open bracket with an elimination run culminating in a victory over Silk Road.
Oxygen Esports Roster
- Logan “skuba” Jenkins
- Josh “pwny” VanGorder
- Mitch “mitch” Semago
- Devon “randyySAVAGE” Bréard
- Andrew “Verno” Maust
M80 (Invited)
M80 is a brand new esports organization founded by former XSET co-founder, Marco Mereu, and one of its first moves included forming a Valorant roster for the ages. The details of how this team received a personal invite to the Challenger’s League is under wraps, although it was most likely due to the players on this roster having played professionally in Challengers last year. This roster is fierce, and they have a social media team to back up their talk.
M80 Roster
- Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic
- Mouhamed “johnqt” Ouarid
- GianFranco “koalanoob” Potestio
- Marc-Andre “NiSMO” Tayar
- Alexander “Zander” Dituri
TSM (Invited)
Much like G2, FaZe Clan, and the other invited teams, Team SoloMid received a direct invite to the league, seeing a pleasant amount of stability after a few years of up-and-down results. Many fans didn’t have high expectations for this roster post announcing the current lineup, but a second-place finish at the Ludwig x Tarik Invitational and recent Challengers matches have created a decent amount of hope for TSM fans.
TSM Roster
- Johann “seven” Hernandez
- Corey “corey” Nigra
- Anthony “gMd” Guimond
- Nicholas “NaturE” Garrison
- Eric “Kanpeki” Xu
The Guard (Invited)
2022’s surprise of the competitive Valorant year, The Guard have come a long way since their humble beginnings. This organization missed out on partnership, but that hasn’t stopped them from receiving a direct invite to continue terrorizing the league. Their star duelist, Sayaplayer, has left the team to join T1, but the young guns still look pretty good.
The Guard Roster
- Jacob “valyn” Batio
- Michael “neT” Bernet
- Jonah “JonahP” Pulice
- Trent “trent” Cairns
- Ian “tex” Botsch
Mad Lions (Open Qualifier)
Formerly known as the org-less team, Dark Ratio, Mad Lions made it to the league after clawing through the elimination bracket against The Nation. Once their run was complete, Mad Lions signed Dark Ratio, who has struggled a bit in the higher echelon of competition.
Mad Lions Roster
- Adam “Ange” Milian
- Anthony “ZexRow” Colandro
- Taylor “drone” Johnson
- Justin “Trick” Sears
- Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey
Disguised (Open Qualifier)
Disguised, or DSG, is a team owned by popular streamer Disguised Toast, who has documented his quest to purchase and run a pro Valorant team over on his YouTube channel. DSG fought through open qualifiers to land a spot in Challengers and has so far proved competitive, with a notable win versus The Guard.
DSG Roster
- Joseph “clear” Allen
- Drake “Exalt” Branly
- Amgalan “Genghsta” Nemekhbayar
- Joshua “steel” Nissan
- Damion “XXiF” Cook
OREsports (Last Chance Qualifier)
OREsports is a relatively smaller organization that has found success in PUBG: Mobile. Looking to enter the Valorant scene, the org signed the free agent Stealing Lunch Money and narrowly made it into the Challengers League through the Last Chance Qualifier.
OREsports Roster
- Jonard “Jonaaa6” Penaflor
- Dayton “Lear” Akau
- Vincent “PureVNS” Nguyen
- Chase “nillyaz” Linder
- Elijah “Zeldris” Hawkins
That’s everything you need to know about Valorant’s North American Challengers scene, including scores, matchups, roster breakdowns, and how to watch it. Be sure to stick with us as we continue to update this primer, and check out our related section below for more Valorant content.
Published: Mar 18, 2023 03:19 pm