While it is pretty clear that Riot Games isn’t quite ready to talk about its plans for Valorant esports in China, it is also obvious that the company and its partners such as TJ Sports—its joint venture with parent company Tencent Holdings in the region—are already in negotiations to start building a major international league for the country.
During a Valorant Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN pre-match press conference on Sunday, Riot Games Global Head of Valorant Esports Leo Faria said (in response to a questions about Valorant esports in China) that the company was excited about China and that Riot (through Tencent) had just secured game approval from the Chinese government because China is one of the largest gaming markets in the world.
“We know from League of Legends how amazing their communities are, how dedicated they are, and how much effort they put into competing and winning championships,” Faria said during the press conference. “So we are building a plan for competitions in China right now. We still do not know exactly how it will take shape, but of course, we want to welcome China into the VCT.”
But beyond Faria’s recent comments, there has been evidence that Riot through TJ Sports has been quietly talking to stakeholders. According to a Bloomberg report on Feb. 8, TJ Sports is already in talks with professional esports players in China about their interest in Valorant, and with the shut down of Overwatch 2 in the country at the end of January (the result of Activision Blizzard ending its partnership with NetEase), we expect that there will be a shift among players and perhaps even entire organizations into the competitive landscape of Riot’s hero shooter game. Given that TJ Sports is in charge of the League of Legends Pro League (China’s official League of Legends esports league), it makes sense that it would be talking to current stakeholders about fielding teams in the region.
It is also no coincidence that the two Chinese teams invited to LOCK//IN this week are FunPlus Phoenix and Edward Gaming; both teams also compete in the LPL.
Another report from BLIX.GG citing multiple sources claims that former Soniqs player Chris “Pl1xx” Li and former ORDER player Elvin “Maple” Sun will be joining Chinese esports organization Weibo Gaming to play Valorant esports in China. The Esports Advocate could not independently confirm the validity of this report.
Finally, it is important to note a social media post from Faria on Feb. 3, where he pointed out a a broadcast of LOCK//IN for China: “Excited to get things started for the VCT in China! Earlier this week we invited esports organizations to an event to share our vision and plans for VALORANT esports. Also, LOCK//IN will feature the first official Mandarin broadcast feed for a VCT global event.”
