Valorant is one of the most popular games for community tournaments, and one of the easiest to run badly. Matches are long, rosters are five players, and small rules gaps (who picks the side on the decider map, what happens when someone disconnects in round seven) cause most of the disputes. This guide walks through planning and running a community Valorant event from registration to final.
1. Decide the scope
Before anything else, fix three numbers: the team cap, the date and the time window. A competitive Valorant map commonly takes 35 to 50 minutes, and longer with overtime. Work backwards from your time window:
- One evening (4 to 5 hours): 8 teams, single elimination, best-of-one until the final.
- One full day (8 to 10 hours): 16 teams, single elimination with best-of-three from the semi-finals, or 8 teams double elimination.
- A weekend: 16 to 32 teams, Swiss or groups on day one, playoffs on day two.
Our tournament maths guide shows how to turn a format and team count into a schedule.
2. Registration and eligibility
Collect, for each team: team name, captain’s Discord handle, and every player’s Riot ID including substitutes. Decide and publish:
- Region and server. Players from different regions will argue about ping. Pick one server region, or let the higher seed choose among a short list.
- Roster size. Five starters plus one or two substitutes is typical.
- Rank limits, if any. For rank-capped events, state whether you use current or peak rank, and how you check it.
- Roster lock time. For example, one hour before check-in.
3. Choose a format
For most community events, single elimination is the practical choice because matches are long. If you can afford the time, double elimination is fairer and gives every team at least two matches. For a large field, a short Swiss stage (three rounds) followed by an 8-team single elimination playoff works well. See single vs double elimination for the trade-offs.
Seed the bracket if you can, using average team rank or previous results; our seeding guide covers the options.
4. Custom game settings
Valorant’s custom game menu has options designed for competitive play. Publish the exact settings so every lobby is identical. Typical choices:
- Mode: Standard.
- Tournament Mode: on. This enables tactical pauses and other competitive controls.
- Overtime: Win by Two: on, so the map cannot end on a sudden-death round at 12–12. If you are very short on time, some organisers turn it off, but say so in advance.
- Cheats and other practice options: off.
- Server: the region you published.
The lobby host is usually the higher seed or the team listed first in the bracket. The host invites both teams and any observers.
5. Map veto
Use the current competitive map pool. A veto process lets both teams influence which maps are played and removes arguments about fairness.
Best-of-one veto
Teams alternate banning maps until one remains. With a seven-map pool, that is six bans, with the higher seed banning first. The team that did not make the last ban picks its starting side on the remaining map.
Best-of-three veto
- Team A bans a map.
- Team B bans a map.
- Team A picks map one. Team B picks its starting side on map one.
- Team B picks map two. Team A picks its starting side on map two.
- Team A bans a map.
- Team B bans a map.
- The remaining map is the decider. Side choice is decided by an agreed method, commonly a knife round equivalent or a coin flip.
Team A is usually the higher seed. Many organisers run vetoes in a Discord thread or with a simple veto tool so there is a written record.
6. Match day: check-in and lobbies
- Open check-in 45 to 60 minutes before the first match. Teams that do not check in are removed and the bracket is regenerated. It is much easier to regenerate before the first match than to deal with forfeits later.
- Publish the bracket link in your announcements channel so teams can see their opponent without asking.
- Give teams a lobby deadline, for example 10 minutes after the scheduled start. After that, the missing team forfeits the first map; after another 10 minutes, the match.
- Keep one admin free for disputes rather than playing or casting.
7. Score reporting
Ask the winning captain to post the final score and a screenshot of the scoreboard in a reporting channel. The losing captain confirms with a reaction. Admins update the bracket, and the shareable link updates for everyone. This two-captain confirmation catches almost all reporting mistakes without admin involvement.
8. Rules to publish in advance
- Disconnects: e.g. teams may pause for up to 10 minutes per map for technical issues; a player who cannot return may be replaced by a registered substitute at the end of the round.
- Remakes: e.g. if a player disconnects before the first kill of round one, the map may be restarted once.
- Substitutions: between maps only, from the registered roster.
- Tactical pauses: the number and length allowed per team per map.
- Bugs and exploits: known exploits are banned; admins decide whether a round is replayed.
- Conduct: a clear statement on harassment and a named person to contact.
- Admin decisions are final.
9. Sample schedule: 8 teams, one evening
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 18:00 | Check-in opens |
| 18:45 | Check-in closes, bracket finalised and shared |
| 19:00 | Quarter-finals (best-of-one) |
| 20:00 | Semi-finals (best-of-one) |
| 21:00 | Final (best-of-three) |
| 23:15 | Results posted, bracket image shared |
10. After the event
Export the final bracket as an image and post it with the results. Thank the teams, the admins and any casters. Keep a note of what ran late and why; the second event is always smoother than the first.
Ready to set it up? Build your Valorant bracket, pick “Valorant” in the Customize panel, and share the link with your captains.