Riot Games kicked off Valorant esports in 2020 with its international First Strike event, letting teams from all over the world compete within their region for their share of the $100,000 prize pool, and South Korea had 24 teams battling it out in the First Strike Qualifiers on November 12 through the 22. The final eight teams that will compete in December are:
F4Q
Cloud9 Korea
Vision Strikers
Quantum Strikers
Crazyhamster
PROPARTY
aNg Darkhouse
T1
What makes this tournament more special compared to most esports events this year is that it will have a live audience at LoL Park located in Jongno Grand Seoul's third floor, and it will be one of the only large-scale esports events happening in-person this year in South Korea. 40 seats will be available in the venue (only 10% of the venue's capacity), and it's currently priced at 15,000 won (roughly $14 USD). Other regions for the First Strike events will be online-only.
The finals of the qualifiers also had a live audience at the venue with strict saefety measures. Viewers had their temperatures taken when entering or leaving the venue. Fans were not allowed to eat during the vent to ensure masks would always be up. Most Valorant tournaments have been only viewable through Twitch and other streaming services like Facebook Gaming and YouTube. Hosting the finals with live fans is exciting, and hopefully we will see more Valorant live esports events next year.
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