Valorant First Strike NSG NA qualifiers schedule, teams, how to watch

The long qualification route for Riot Games' first Valorant tournament, First Strike, commenced in the North American region on October 26 with the NSG Open qualifiers. The open qualifiers began with 128 teams, out of which only the top 16 will qualify for the NSG tournament, scheduled for November 4 to 8. While the qualifiers and subsequent tournaments will still be hosted by third-party organisers, December's main event will be hosted solely by Riot Games and will also feature a massive $100,000 prize pool.

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Valorant First Strike NSG qualifiers schedule, format

The open qualifiers for the tournaments started on October 26 with 128 teams participating for 16 qualifying berths. Organised by Nerd Street Gamers (NSG), the tournament is being played over a single-elimination, best-of-three format. The first leg of the open qualifiers will conclude on October 30. 

Sixteen teams from the qualifiers will participate in the NSG Tournament. The teams finishing in the top four will qualify directly for the inaugural First Strike. Teams placing fifth through eighth will advance to the main event of the second string tournament - UMG Tournament. A total for 16 teams will compete in the UMG Tournament, of which the top four will advance to First Strike.

The inaugural Valorant First Strike event will be played with the top eight teams of the region competing for the $100,000 prize pool and the bragging rights to be called as the best Valorant team in North America. 

Also Read | Valorant First Strike Series To Be First Official Tournament Hosted By Riot Games

First Strike NSG schedule

• NSG Open Qualifier (October 26 to 30) - Top 16 advance to NSG Tournament

• NSG Tournament (November 4 to 8) - Top four advance to First Strike; 5th to 8th advance to UMG Tournament

• UMG Open Qualifier (November 11 to 15) - Top 12 advance to UMP Tournament

• UMG Tournament (November 18 to 22) - Top four advance to First Strike

• Valorant First Strike (December 3 to 6) - Eight-team competition for $100,000

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Valorant First Strike NSG teams, quarter-final bracket

As per the latest updated bracket, the quarter-final matches in the open qualifiers are as follows:

• Sentinels vs Gen. G
• Team Envy vs T1
• TSM vs 100 Thieves
• Cloud9 vs The Slimy Boogermen

How to watch First Strike qualifiers?

Nerd Street Gamer’s Twitch channel is providing the official live streaming of the NSG NA Open qualifiers. In addition, most of the major Valorant teams are also live-streaming their tournament matches on their official Twitch channels.

Also Read | Valorant First Strike North American Event To Feature $100,000 Prize Pool

(Image Credits: Nerd Street Gamers Twitter)