The Esports Club have announced the biggest VALORANT event in South Asia yet, the VALORANT TEC Gauntlet Series, featuring teams from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. TEC have also confirmed a ₹ 52,00,000/- prize pool spread over 4 seasons, which is to be the highest in South Asian VALORANT so far. In addition, a dedicated prize pool for mid tier and amateur teams is also mentioned.
We went ahead and contacted Mr. Ishaan Arya, Co-Founder of The Esports Club for his comments on the most commonly asked questions in the South Asian VALORANT community following the announcement of TEC Gauntlet Season 1:
1. Considering the hype for the latest installment in the TEC VALORANT Events, how revolutionary will TEC Gauntlet Season 1 be in terms of VALORANT esports circuit in India?
“We feel this first of a kind event will really help stabilize the Valorant ecosystem in India. With this first long-term in the region, we hope to see more consistent rosters as well as more organizations investing seriously in and around Valorant.“
With such a clearly defined tournament circuit, and vision, Mr. Ishaan Arya thinks the VALORANT ecosystem will only seem to gain from this event. Teams will be less reluctant about the uncertainties of the future, and will be able to plan long term, improving the quality of play putting South Asian VALORANT closer to the global world step by step.
2. How will the amateur bracket work for TEC Gauntlet Season 1? Is there any information you can dispense about it?
“The first season will seed teams after an open qualifier. Every single team can take part, there will be zero invites and no seeding in the qualifier phase of the event. The top 16 teams will qualify for the first season of the event.”
The first season will be a fresh slate for hundreds of teams across South Asia, and will allow new names to come across to the top levels of VALORANT. There will be no seeding so, there is a good chance some big names may miss out!
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3. How will TEC combat issues like smurfing, account sharing and other issues that plague amateur circuits?
“Players submit ID's and go through a verification process after qualifying for the gauntlet. We are confident of our league ops team's ability to ensure complete competitive integrity of our events. Another clause in the rules ensures Gauntlet Teams cannot take part in the open qualifiers just for the prize money, thereby guaranteeing amateur teams a fair event at their level.”
There seems to be a clear distinction in the tournaments both tiers of teams can take part in, with the teams of the higher echelon being barred from participating in the amateur brackets at all costs. Mr. Ishaan Arya also reiterates that the TEC league ops team will guarantee the competitive integrity of the amateur tournaments, which as of today are not free from unfair malpractices like account sharing, smurfing, and more.
4. How many teams will be added/removed from this event during every season? Will there be any invited teams to the event or are all spots open for Qualifying teams in Season 1? Will teams be invited automatically to future seasons?
“Each season 4 teams will be knocked out of the Gauntlet and replaced by 4 winners from the Open Qualifiers. While the Gauntlet is a platform to showcase the best teams in the region, we wanted to ensure we constantly gave new teams an opportunity to work hard and earn a spot in the biggest event of the year, The TEC Gauntlet.”
TEC have reaffirmed their belief in sporting merit, and here confirm that Promotion and Demotion will be a regular part of the circuit to help maintain healthy competition and provide opportunities for up and coming teams whilst also penalizing complacent teams and players with the threat of relegation.
5. Will there be more invitational LANs for the more established teams in the future by TEC? Or will TEC be focused on this mega Gauntlet event?
“The TEC Gauntlet will most certainly remain the centerpiece of the entire TEC ecosystem, however we will continue to create multiple parallel opportunities within Valorant for teams at the Semi Pro and Amateur Tier with our various partners! So keep an eye out, there is lots more to come.”
Fans are looking optimistic and the reception has been good, with optimism and bright futures in the eyes of young and seasoned VALORANT players for the future of the game in South Asia.