Eight of Japan’s finest teams will have the opportunity to play in front of the crowd on June 25-26.
JAPAN – Saitama Super Arena will play host to VCT Japan Stage 2 Challengers, with the finals taking place in front of a live crowd on the last two days of the tournament, the official VALORANT Champions Tour Japan account tweeted on Saturday.
The Saitama Super Arena (さいたまスーパーアリーナ) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It has a maximum capacity of 36,500 seats, making it the world’s second-largest indoor arena. However, according to several community members, the event is expected to be staged in a 5,000-person community arena instead of the main arena or the stadium.
Riot Games has yet to confirm the exact venue. Tickets will be available for purchase beginning tomorrow, June 30.
(Photo courtesy of Lennarts Concerts)
A total of eight teams will compete in the playoffs, following the same format and prizes that were featured for Stage 1. ZETA DIVISION, FAV Gaming, REJECT, and NORTHEPTION have already secured their spots, with the remaining four to be determined by the end of next week.
All playoff matches will be played as best-of-threes, with the double-elimination playoffs culminating with a best-of-five grand final.
ALSO READ: Why this was the most-watched match in VALORANT history to date
Only the upper bracket, lower bracket, and grand finals will take place in front of a live audience at Saitama Super Arena. Aside from the presumably-JP¥1,000,000 first-place prize, the winner of the tournament will also earn a spot at VCT Masters 2 Copenhagen, scheduled for July 10-24.
Japan is widely known for its vast enthusiasm when it comes to VALORANT. RAGE VALORANT 2022 Spring, which was held on May 7-8 at The Tokyo Dome Stadium, drew an astounding 13,000 visitors, making it the first VALORANT event in front of live audiences on a large scale. During the last hour of the first day’s live stream, the competition also attracted a high of 74,276 viewers.
During the first day, the event featured an all-star streamer showdown with 10 of the country’s top streamers and content creators, followed by exhibition bouts starring ZETA DIVISION, Crazy Raccoon, and REJECT the next day.
In each of the last four international VALORANT competitions, Japanese-speaking viewers have always comprised a significant proportion of the audience. According to Esports Charts, at the most recent Masters staged in Reykjavík, the highest number of Japanese viewers was 419,310, second only to the English audience of 490,629 viewers. Those figures just demonstrate the level fervor we can expect on June 25-26.
The teams for the VCT Japan Stage 2 Challengers Playoffs can be found below:
| NORTHEPTION | ZETA DIVISION |
| FAV Gaming | REJECT |
| TBD | TBD |
| TBD | TBD |
For more insights on the Asian VALORANT scene and upcoming content like this, be sure to like and follow VALO2ASIA on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Cover photo courtesy of TokyoGirlsUpdate
