SOOP VALORANT League 2024 returns in December, featuring Sentinels, NRG, Gen.G, DRX, and more

DECEMBER 5, 2024 – SOOP, a new live streaming platform launched in June, has announced the return of the highly anticipated SOOP VALORANT League (SVL) from December 10 to 15.

Formerly named the AfreecaTV VALORANT League (AVL), the rebranded SVL will see eight world-renowned teams converge offline at Sangam SOOP Colosseum in Seoul, South Korea. With a US$80,000 prize pool at stake, the tournament is set to deliver heated competition and excitement at the tail end of Riot Games’ official VALORANT OFF//SEASON 2024 tournament circuit.

The eight competing teams are comprised of six invited teams from the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Americas, China, and Pacific leagues, while two teams were determined through Thailand and Vietnam qualifiers.

Having dominated the AVL with a 3-0 victory, American powerhouse, Sentinels, returns to defend its title in hopes to lift the new SVL trophy. Alongside Sentinels is fellow VCT Americas representative NRG, who recently faced off against Sentinels and emerged victorious at the latter’s namesake SEN City Classic tournament in Los Angeles.

Representing the Pacific region, VCT Pacific Stage 2 and VALORANT Masters Shanghai champion, Gen.G Esports, will be joined by fellow South Korean representative, DRX, and Talon Esports. Bilibili Gaming will represent China, while VALORANT Challengers SEA contenders, Made in Thailand and Rapid Lofi, were selected through Thailand and Vietnam qualifiers, respectively.

During the group stage, the eight teams will be split into two groups of four in a double-elimination format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs to battle it out in a single-elimination bracket, before culminating in a best-of-five grand final showdown.

SOOP will exclusively organize, produce, and broadcast SVL 2024 across its official VALORANT channels in five languages, spanning English, Korean, Mandarin, Thai, and Vietnamese (hosted on ONLive). VALORANT esports enthusiasts, streamers, and content creators are also invited to co-stream the event on SOOP.

Dates: December 10-15, 2024

Format: Offline Location: Sangam SOOP Colosseum, Seoul, South Korea

English broadcast: http://sooplive.com/valoranten

Thai broadcast: http://sooplive.com/valorantth

Korean broadcast: https://ch.sooplive.co.kr/valorant

Vietnamese broadcast: https://streamer.onlive.vn/onliveesport

Mandarin broadcast: TBC

The upcoming SVL comes off the heels of VALORANT Challengers Southeast Asia 2024: Split 3, for which Riot Games appointed SOOP as the official partner for tournament operations, production, and exclusive broadcast. The appointment followed Riot Games’ unveiled the addition of Stage 3 Challengers tournaments, which revamped and expanded the VALORANT Challengers tournament circuit.

SOOP also previously partnered with Riot Games to exclusively organize, produce, and exclusively broadcast VALORANT Challengers Thailand 2024. SOOP’s growing role within the competitive ecosystem signals its dedication to producing elevated and inclusive viewing experiences for VALORANT esports fans.

Since launch, SOOP has partnered with several world-renowned esports organizations and pro players to host exclusive live streams on its platform, including recent League of Legends Worlds champion, T1, MSI 2024 champion, Gen.G, and LCK teams, Kwangdong Freecs and BRION.

To further round out the VALORANT esports fan experience, SOOP has partnered with world-class South Korean VALORANT team, DRX, and T1 pro player, Byung-chul "BuZz" Yu, to host exclusive live streams on SOOP for fans, facilitating unique interaction opportunities for the VCT Pacific team’s most avid supporters.

In addition to building stronger bonds between esports pros and fan communities, SOOP will host “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) sessions and online fan meeting events, further bridging the gap between VALORANT audiences and their esports heroes.

Ensuring that esports and gaming fans around the world are included in the conversation, SOOP has introduced an auto-translated subtitle feature on live streams to break down language barriers for viewers. Able to capture streamers’ speech and generate translated subtitles in real time, the development marks a milestone in democratizing live streaming experiences, and closes the communication gap between streamers and their global fans. Initially available in English, Mandarin, and Japanese, among others, the feature is set to support additional languages in coming updates. 

The feature ushers in unprecedented accessibility for VALORANT fans to join the excitement of tournament broadcasts that are not traditionally offered in their native language. This not only allows fans from outside of VCT regions to better follow teams and players – including their play styles and strategies – during live broadcasts as the action happens, but also allows greater visibility, recognition, and interaction for regional teams and players as they grow in global prominence and strive towards the world stage.

The development is one of many ways in which SOOP is rapidly updating and improving its beta platform to enhance interactions between streamers and communities. Features including text-to-speech (TTS), screen customization, channel management tools, subscription tier tools, and channel drops are in development to enhance live streaming capabilities for new and seasoned streamers, while challenge missions and tournament systems are in development to allow streamers to engage and interact with their audiences like never before.

SOOP is available in English, Thai, and Mandarin for PC users via its web platform, and mobile users via respective apps for Android and Apple devices.

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SOOP is a live streaming platform with a mission to empower connections and creativity between creators, communities, and partners. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and leveraging nearly two decades of expertise from the team behind AfreecaTV, Korea’s premier live streaming platform, SOOP is committed to redefining the live streaming landscape through technological advancements, enhanced user experiences and customization, and exclusive partnerships with creators and publishers in the esports and gaming space.

For more information, visit SOOP’s website.