It appears that North American gamers will finally experience the global #LAN scene after the VALORANT Champions Tour made Europe its home for the past two years.

Riot Games is considering Los Angeles as a potential venue to host the #2023VCT championship tournament in August, according to multiple #Esports media sources. If the reports are true, LA will not only be the city of Lakers, Clippers, and Dodgers, but also a home for many Valorant esports teams that will give a completely new tone to Los Angeles’ entertainment repertoire.

A detour to Europe

The competitive circuit began mostly in an online setting because VALORANT was published at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and every LAN tournament appears to have been affected by the virus in some way. Among other difficulties, players have had to play from their hotel rooms and missed games.

Reykjavik, Iceland served as the initial venue for VCT LAN competitions since it is a safe place with a LAN experience that guarantees competitive integrity for players.

The VCT has since held significant international competitions in Berlin and Istanbul as COVID limitations have eased. Most regional competitions have been played online.

If the VCT decides to play the championship event in the United States this year, Los Angeles is a possible host city. Other esports have also hosted important competitions in Los Angeles and the neighborhood, such as the Overwatch League Grand Finals in Anaheim in November of last year.

The Comeback To USA

There are numerous additional well-known American cities that are popular locations for international esports competitions. For instance, the LCS championships were hosted at the United Center in Chicago last season. And a well-liked and interesting location is the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Although there have been times when European teams have dominated VALORANT, teams from Central and South America, as well as North America, have significant fan bases that will be enthusiastic to see the esport come to the Americas.

Despite various local constraints that affected match timings and lengthy travel distances for some teams, Berlin, Istanbul, and Reykjavik have all been wonderful locations for VCT events in the past.

Riot has not yet specified where in the Los Angeles region it plans to hold the 2023 VCT Championships, although past Riot events there suggest some potential locations. Los Angeles is also home to the LCS and Riot Games.

While American supporters now have something really exciting to anticipate later this year, European fans may be disappointed that the VCT Championships won’t be coming back for 2023.