First VCT Masters event of 2022 will return to Reykjavík

It’s been officially revealed that the first Valorant Champions Tour Masters event of 2022 will be taking teams back to Reykjavik, Iceland.

The announcement first appeared on the Valorant esports official Weibo account in Chinese on February 18, while the VCT EMEA Challengers Stage 1 Groups were underway.

Even though the Valorant esports scene is still a relatively young one, Reykjavik is quickly becoming a familiar venue for teams, as it was also the site of the Stage 2 Masters event in May 2021.

Valorant teams return to Reykjavik for 2022 Stage 1 Masters

As Weibo is a Chinese social media site, the announcement was obviously made in Mandarin. For those who don’t speak the language, we’ve provided a translation below per Google:

Today we are excited to announce that the inaugural international event of the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour is returning to Reykjavik from April 10-24! As host country, Iceland has hosted our recent major events brilliantly and, in the current global situation, provides the best way to ensure a successful event.

Bringing VALORANT events to live audiences in 2022 is a top priority for esports. However, Iceland remains an ideal location to host international offline competitions until it is safe to host an event that will keep fans engaged.

​​It is precisely because of our deep relationship and strong connection with Iceland that all qualifying teams are given the best guarantee of participation. In addition, Iceland’s time zone makes it easy to schedule matches for online viewers on different continents.

From the announcement it seems that Reykjavik will be the Valorant esport capital of the world until it’s safe for fans to attend in person.

It might seem like a strange place to base the Masters competition, but the big reason is the time zone, which fits the best for matches to be watched on either side of the pond.

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We could depart from Iceland for Masters 2 or the 2022 VCT Champions tournament, but we won’t know for sure until Riot announces where each will be held later on in the year.