Gaming
Esports
Attention student VALORANT players: Red Bull Campus Clutch is back
As the global esport tournament returns for a third season, at stake is nothing less than the title of world's best student VALORANT team. Here's why you should get a team together and enter.
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Red Bull Campus Clutch is firing up. In the third season of this open VALORANT tournament for university students, players will once again team up to take on five-person crews from their own region and – potentially – from across the world who are all aiming for global glory. Here are six reasons why it's such a heart-pounder.
Student VALORANT players around the world are invited to pull together a team and apply to the latest edition of Red Bull Campus Clutch
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1. The scope is global
At the national and regional levels, Red Bull Campus Clutch has hosted over 800 tournament events since 2021, with 25,000 participants in the first season alone and 30,000 in the second year. The 2023 edition will see more amazing action, with over 200 national and regional tournaments across four months, all leading up to November's World Final.
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2. It starts at the grassroots
Red Bull Campus Clutch brings up-and-coming student VALORANT players of every skill level together and experience competitive gaming like they never have before.
July 17 marks the day that the registration window opens for local qualifying events, scheduled according to country or region. Each team of five will try to progress through the local qualifiers with the best making their way to the National Final, where the country's top student teams go head-to-head. The team that claims victory at a Red Bull Campus Clutch National Final earns the chance to represent their country in the World Final.
That feeling when you're representing your country on the world stage
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
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3. It goes all the way to the top
By early November the global field will have been narrowed down, confirming the top student VALORANT teams around the world. Each will receive an all-expenses-paid invite to the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final, a LAN tournament that will decide who becomes this season's champions. For many of the teams, that season finale will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete live in a professional setting. As for the winning team, not only will they earn bragging rights, but they'll receive a €20,000 prize as well.
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4. The World Final locations are incredible
The Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final brings together the best teams in major global destinations. In 2021, the season climax was held in the Spanish capital, Madrid, while 2022 saw the final showdowns take place in Brazil at São Paulo’s epic Estádio do Pacaembu.
The 2022 venue in São Paulo
© Fabio Piva/Red Bull Content Pool
This year, the finalists will assemble in Istanbul, Turkey, the fascinating and ancient city that stands at the cusp of Europe and Asia. As a previous host to the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) climax and other major esports events, the Volkswagen Arena venue is sure to inspire, giving the Red Bull Campus Clutch participants the chance to play on a stage that has welcomed world-renowned stars.
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5. Any team can win
If you think you can pick the favourites, think again. Red Bull Campus Clutch has featured some incredible stories and amazing upsets from teams around the world. At the 2021 World Final in Madrid, standout squads like Team Egypt – who won it all – came out of nowhere to put themselves and their entire region on the VALORANT map.
Egypt’s Team Anubis go for the win at the 2021 World Final
© Gianfranco Tripodo/Red Bull Content Pool
The following season, Red Bull Campus Clutch 2022 ran deep, as new powerhouses emerged alongside the experienced squads who returned for redemption. When the World Final took place in São Paulo, tenacious Team USA had to battle through ups and downs to finally take the overall victory in overtime.
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6. It's a proving ground for new talent
While not everyone in the tournament has professional ambitions, Red Bull Campus Clutch been a proving ground for participants like Team Egypt's Mohamed 'shalaby' Shalaby, who after a strong showing in 2021 went on to sign with pro esports team Team Vitality. Oliver Budi 'm0rea' Wangge has also been making waves ever since his performance for Team Indonesia at Red Bull Campus Clutch last season, recently winning a gold medal at the South East Asian Games 2023.
The window for the 2023 Red Bull Campus Clutch Qualifiers is open from July 17, so now’s the time to make your move. You can find all the information, including how to register, right here.
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