UNIVERSITY Esports NA, the division of Riot Games in charge of College League of Legends and College Valorant in North America, announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Visit Raleigh to bring the 2025 College League of Legends and Valorant Championship Grand Finals to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Financial terms of this deal were not disclosed.
The official Riot Games collegiate esports competitions across North America will crown their 2025 champions on May 31 for College League of Legends and June 1 for College Valorant. The competitions will be hosted by North Carolina State University in collaboration with Visit Raleigh, naming rights partner ExitLag, and tournament organizer GGTech.
Caio Almeida, Senior Manager at Riot Games, noted in a release that the company’s “past experiences with the city of Raleigh, including the 2023 LCS Spring Finals, have been incredible, making it the perfect location to host another Riot esports event.”
Cody Elsen, esports director at NC State University, added in a release: “NC State University is thrilled to be hosting the CLOL and CVAL finals, this provides our students with the networking and high impact learning opportunities needed to jumpstart their careers upon graduation. North Carolina is truly becoming the center of esports in North America and NC State University will be ready to support all future initiatives.”
The top teams from each participating conference are in the process of battling for placement into the modified double-elimination College Championship bracket, according to Riot. The top-seeded teams begin in the upper bracket, while the lower-seeded teams will start in the lower bracket. The College Championship bracket begins mid-April and continues until the live finals at the end of May, with the top two teams for College League of Legends and College Valorant advancing to the Grand Finals to compete in-person at the live Championship.
Details on Riot’s College esports program can be found at universityesportsna.riotgames.com.