Riot Games has announced that MistGames will become the new tournament operator for Valorant Northern Europe Polaris in 2024.
The operator is owned by a Norwegian company known as ProUnite (part of Konas Holding AS), which also owns Apeks, a team competing in the Polaris league. We delved into this conflict of interest further in this article, after the below section.
MistGames named 2024 operator for Valorant Northern Europe Polaris
Polaris is the Challengers league for teams in the UK, Ireland and Nordics, which was previously operated by Promod Esports, a UK-based business that recently entered liquidation.
MistGames, the new operator, has experience running other tournaments including the Heroes of Lofoten and Heroes of Tomorrow Counter-Strike competitions.
Riot Games said in an announcement post: “MistGames shares our long-term vision for Valorant Esports in EMEA and we’re confident the team will produce a fantastic tournament for our players and fans in Northern Europe.
“The Challengers Leagues play a pivotal role in developing the next generation of EMEA talent by providing a competitive ecosystem for up and coming players to thrive, and we have every intention of keeping this momentum going in 2024.”
While the specific start date for Polaris in 2024 is due to be announced in the coming weeks, Stage 1 playoffs will occur in early March through to mid April, with all Challengers leagues concluding by March 20th.
Stage 2 will follow the conclusion of the VCT EMEA playoffs and commence from mid May through to the end of July, with all leagues concluding by July 27th.
Apeks, owned by MistGames’ parent company, won back-to-back Valorant Challengers 2023 Northern Europe tournaments this year, when the league was organised by Promod. And UK/Lithuanian player Soulcas recently joined the Apeks 2024 Valorant roster.
Other Challengers leagues include DACH Evolution, France Revolution, Spain Rising, Italy Rinascimento, Portugal Tempest, Eastern Europe Surge, MENA Resilience and Türkiye Birlik.
Riot and MistGames respond to Polaris’ conflict of interest situation
Anders Nordermoen, COO and co-owner of DMG Esports, pointed out that MistGames and Apeks are both owned by ProUnite, creating a conflict of interest.
We reached out to Riot Games, Apeks and MistGames for comment and clarification.
Riot Games sent us the following statement: “Our process when deciding on a new tournament organiser for Challengers Northern Europe: Polaris was very rigorous.
“MistGames was transparent from the outset about its ownership’s relationship with a team in the league. However, they demonstrated that they’re able to manage this without impacting the competitive integrity of the tournament.
“In addition, we are exploring implementing decisions to ensure the TO complies with these competitive integrity regulations.”
Johanna K. Cederström, Chief Delivery Officer at MistGames, also told Esports News UK: “Mistgames has been transparent with Riot about this matter from start, and we have initiated several steps to ensure that we follow the competitive integrity regulations. This includes owner interest and management.
“We have the outmost respect for the league, the players involved and the whole community. Our vision is to have transparency and good dialog with everyone.”
“MistGames was transparent from the outset about its ownership’s relationship with a team in the league. However, they demonstrated that they’re able to manage this without impacting the competitive integrity of the tournament.”
Riot Games
Esports News UK asked both parties for more specifics around how they believe it won’t impact the competitive integrity of the tournament, the steps taken, and an updated rulebook, but has not yet received an updated response.
Section 2.2 of the 2023 Valorant Challengers rules state: “The League shall have the right to make final and binding determinations regarding team ownership, issues relating to the multiple team restriction and other relationships that may otherwise have an adverse impact on the competitive integrity of the Challengers League.
“Any person that petitions for ownership into Challengers can be denied admission at the sole discretion of the League. Team owners agree that they will not contest any final determination of the League in connection therewith.”
In section 16, under interpretation and construction, it states: “Any matters relating to the Challengers event that are not covered by these Challengers Rules or the Global Policy will be subject to an interpretation made by Riot and the tournament operator and provided to the teams from time to time in the form of an update to, or interpretation of, these Challengers Rules or the Global Policy.
“All decisions made by Riot, the Tournament Operator and Challengers Officials in regard to interpretations of these Challengers Rules and the Global Policy are final.”
In other words, what Riot and MistGames say, goes.
The code of conduct also states: “All teams and team members must observe the highest standards of personal integrity and good sportsmanship at all times.”
What if there’s a dispute between Apeks and another team? What if there’s a dispute between an Apeks player and the tournament operator?
Shouldn’t the tournament operator be entirely impartial and free from conflicts of interest?
One source told Esports News UK they believe Riot may have acted too quickly to find a new operator after Promod entered liquidation.
Changes to Valorant Challengers EMEA season for 2024
Riot also announced some changes for the Valorant 2024 Challengers EMEA season, which will still allow teams to progress to the Valorant Ascension EMEA as usual, and from here there’s a chance to reach the top-level VCT EMEA.
For 2024, Riot is adding more points to Stage 1 so that teams who perform consistently well across both stages are most rewarded.
Challenger teams can now become affiliate with VCT teams, and player loans are being reworked so that VCT teams can loan up to two players from Challengers Leagues.
A two-way player system will allow VCT teams to give players play time in both the VCT and Challengers Leagues, to support their development.
Finally, the 2025 season of Challengers EMEA will kick off in the final quarter of 2024, rather than the first quarter of 2025.
Premier pathway for Challengers detailed
“From Split 2 onwards, Premier will be the sole method of promotion into Valorant Challengers EMEA following May’s promotion/relegation,” Riot said.
“But for the start of 2024 (Split 1), Valorant Regional Circuits (VRCs) and Premier will both promote teams into Challengers.
“Following this, VRCs will still exist, offering players the chance to develop and hone their skills at a grassroots level, but will no longer feed into Valorant Challengers EMEA as they have previously.”
To progress to Valorant Northern Europe Polaris, players must play on the London or Stockholm ‘gamepods’ (or servers).
To be eligible to qualify into Challengers, all players must be at least 16 years old, and three of the five starting players must also be residents of their respective Premier Zone. In some regions, teams will need to have an incorporated company to participate in Challengers.
Related article: Valorant EMEA Awards 2023 winners include Benjyfishy, Keiko and Fnatic
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
