VALORANT tournament Spike Nations returns with €60,000 to be donated to charity by Riot Games

BLAST has teamed up with Riot Games to bring back the Spike Nations VALORANT tournament for a second installment in October (7-9 October).

The three-day online tournament features 12 EMEA-based teams made up of professional esports players, popular gaming personalities and streamers, each representing their nation or region, with €60,000 donated to charitable causes.

The Spike Nations format will create opportunities for funds to be raised and added incentives for teams to beat each other, upping the stakes in the process. Each team will be competing for national glory as they tussle with each over three-days of VALORANT action next month.

The tournament consists of three groups of four. The top two teams in each group will progress to the final knockout stage. VALORANT’s latest map addition Fracture will also feature in the tournament.

Further information in the coming weeks will be announced on the format, teams, other tournament mechanics and how the €60,000 will be donated to charity by Riot Games.

The nations competing include:

Team United Kingdom

Team France

Team Spain

Team Portugal

Team Nordics

Team Poland

Team Turkey

Team CIS

Team Italy

Team DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

Team Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

Team Eastern Europe

Leo Matlock, VP of Commercial at BLAST, said: “Welcoming back Spike Nations for a second year is testament to how well the inaugural event in 2020 was received by the VALORANT community. We’ve made some exciting additions to the tournament, added new teams made up of more nations than before. We can’t wait to rekindle old rivalries and create fun storylines for fans to enjoy.

“BLAST has proven itself as the leading esports tournament organisation and we are delighted to partner up again with Riot Games and create more incredible VALORANT experiences for fans who love the game or are experiencing it for the first time.”

Felix Morgan, VALORANT Product Lead, Europe said: “After hearing such positive feedback from both creators and fans during last year’s Spike Nations event, this year we’re partnering with BLAST to deliver something even bigger and better. We’ve got some great surprises in store and feel confident that this year will deliver an even better fan experience. We can’t wait to see our country teams battling it out for a good cause.”

Last year’s first ever Spike Nations took place in November with 10 teams competing against each other. The final saw Team Portugal beat Team United Kingdom 2-0