Running a VALORANT tournament used to mean tiered licenses, hard caps, and waiting on approvals. Not anymore. As part of the move toward the 2027 era, Riot has streamlined its Community Competition Guidelines: one unified global framework, a single community competition license, and in most cases no need to wait for Riot before you run your event.
This guide walks through what changed and how to run a compliant community tournament from bracket to broadcast. It is a plain summary, not legal advice. Always follow Riot's official Community Competition Guidelines as the source of truth.
What changed
- One license, globally. Tiered licensing is gone. There is a single community competition license across supported regions.
- No more hard caps. Caps on entry fees, sponsorship revenue, prize pools, and spectator fees have been removed.
- No duration limits and relaxed naming and branding rules.
- No approval wait. In most cases you don't wait for Riot; you fill out a visibility form so Riot can see where and when events happen.
Step 1: Check you're covered
The community guidelines cover competitions at nearly any scale, online or offline, open or invitational. A few categories are notcovered and need a separate agreement with Riot: government entities, professional VALORANT teams and players operating under separate programs, streaming/broadcast/media platforms, and corporate brands that aren't established tournament organizers.
If you are a community organizer, a creator, or a small org running events in good faith, you are almost certainly in scope.
Step 2: File the visibility form
Riot asks organizers to submit a short visibility form so it can see where and when community events take place. In most cases you don't need to wait for a response before operating. The form is about ecosystem visibility, not approval.
Step 3: Pick a format and write the rules
Choose a bracket that fits your field and your calendar:
- Single elimination: fast, fewest matches; one loss is out.
- Double elimination: a losers' bracket gives every team a second life (needs a power-of-two field).
- Round robin: everyone plays everyone; best for small fields or group stages.
- Swiss: pairs teams on similar records; scales to large fields without a full round robin.
Then publish the rules up front: match format (Bo1/Bo3/Bo5), map pool, check-in window, roster and substitute rules, rank or region eligibility, and how you will handle no-shows and disputes. Clear rules before registration opens prevent most of the arguments that derail community events.
Step 4: Set entry fees and prizes (now uncapped)
With the caps removed, you can charge entry fees, take sponsorship, build a prize pool, and gate spectator streams at whatever level keeps your event sustainable. Riot asks only that you act reasonably and provide fair value to players, fans, and partners.
If you take entry fees or hold prize money, handle it responsibly. Mishandling prize money or making misleading promises is exactly the bad-faith behavior that gets an event shut down.
Step 5: Name and brand it correctly
You can use VALORANT assets to promote your event, but only to promote the competition itself, not a sponsor or brand. A few hard rules:
- Call it a “Community Tournament” (or community competition) where required, and don't use official event branding like “Masters” or “Champions.”
- Don't use Riot Games logos in event marketing, and don't imply Riot operates, endorses, or sponsors your event.
- You can stream on any platform and charge spectator fees, but you can't broadcast on linear television.
Step 6: Run it on Ascend
You can run all of this on spreadsheets, or run it in one place. Ascend gives community organizers a full tournament engine: build a bracket in any format, open registration, seed automatically, publish fixtures, run live match lobbies with map veto and score reporting, and track player stats and MVPs. All of it under your organization's brand, with your logo and banner on every page.
To host, create an organization, then launch your tournament from the org console. Players already on Ascend can find your event, and your teams can fill rosters from the recruit board.
Sources
Frequently asked
Do I need Riot's permission to run a VALORANT tournament?
In most cases, no. Under the updated Community Competition Guidelines, community organizers operate under a single community competition license without waiting for approval; you fill out a visibility form so Riot can see where and when events happen. Some categories (government entities, pro teams under separate programs, media/broadcast platforms, and corporate brands that aren't established organizers) still need a separate agreement with Riot.
Can I charge entry fees and award prize money?
Yes. Riot removed the caps on entry fees, sponsorship revenue, prize pools, and spectator fees. You set them at a level that keeps your event sustainable, as long as you act reasonably and handle prize money responsibly.
What sponsors are off-limits for a VALORANT community tournament?
Gambling/sportsbooks/casinos, fantasy esports, prescription or non-OTC drugs (including CBD), firearms and weapons, adult content, tobacco, alcohol, crypto/NFTs and unregulated financial instruments, counterfeit-item marketplaces, political campaigns/PACs, and partisan or non-reputable charities. A sponsor can be a presenting or supporting partner but can't be part of the competition's name.
What do I have to call my tournament?
Where required, identify it as a community tournament or community competition. You can't use official event branding like 'Masters' or 'Champions,' can't use Riot Games logos in marketing, and can't imply Riot operates, endorses, or sponsors your event.
How do I host a VALORANT tournament on Ascend?
Create an organization on Ascend, then launch a tournament from the org console: pick a bracket format, open registration, publish fixtures, and run live match lobbies with score reporting, all under your org's brand. Players already on the platform can discover and register for your event.
