Premier is now officially released. Let’s take a look at what’s in store for players who want to dive deeper into the world of competitive VALORANT.
Riot Games stepped into the world of FPS with their VALORANT in 2020. The game has since become one of the biggest live-service titles worldwide. With game modes like Unrated, Competitive, Spike Rush, Team Deathmatch, and Escalation, players have remained hooked on the game.
Out of all the game modes in VALORANT, the most played is Competitive. In competitive play, players are placed in different ranks based on their MMR or RR. However, there is a rank cap in VALORANT where players cannot go above the highest rank of Radiant.
The rank cap makes the grind for high-ranked players stale, as they are stuck in the same matchmaking position every act. Taking this into account, Riot Games announced their vision of another competitive game mode in 2022, which is now called Premier. If you’re eager to learn more about Premier, rest assured as we dive into what the game mode brings.
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What is Premier?
Premier is a competitive game mode focusing on a higher skill cap. In 2022, Riot Games revealed its vision of a dedicated competitive game mode for young players looking to venture into the esports scene.
For easier comparison, the game mode is like CSGO’s FACEit matchmaking, where players queue up for higher-ranked challenges than in the normal ranked game mode. However, the highest-rated players get a direct gateway to the challengers.
Riot Games previously released two Premier beta phases to test its potential. After enormous positive feedback, Riot Games finally released it after making some subtle but necessary changes.
New Premier Division
In Premier Beta, the Divisions were numbered, however, with the Premier Launch Stage, the Divisions will move into a level-based system. A new beginner-level contender has been added to the Launch Stage.
After creating a team, all team players will be allocated to different divisions based on their total MMR rating. There are 5 Division levels, with sub-divisions in between them. Here are all the Divisions from highest to lowest:
- Contender
- Elite 1-5
- Advanced 1-5
- Intermediate 1-5
- Open 1-5
How to Enroll
When a new Stage starts, the Team Owner will have to enroll their team for that Stage. During the enrollment process, the Team Owner will select a Zone. Within the Zone, the team will be recommended the top 2 pods (for example, Central vs. Texas) based on the lowest average latency of the Team Owner.
The Premier Hub and Team Tab both show your team’s enrollment status. Players who miss the enrollment period cannot play in the Premier for that window.
Premier Rewards
The rewards for participating and winning the Playoff tournament will be distributed the day after the Stage ends. Concurrent rewards include:
- A unique Gun Buddy and Title for winning.
- A Player Card for playing at least one match.
Players must play at least two weekly matches or one tournament match with a team to earn a Crest. The Crest will be available at the start of the new Stage.
When will the Next Premier Stage Start?
The Next Premier Stage will start on October 23, 2023, with the start of Episode 7, Act 3. The Stage will last another 2 months, ending on December 23, 2023. All Division Ratings will reset with each Stage.
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