Project Blender Launches In EMEA

Written by: Wei

11/09/2025

Riot Games is launching something called Project Blender in VALORANT aimed at reshaping how esports works in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, North Africa).

The goal is to bring together teams of all levels in games that reward performance, innovation, and inclusion.

Here is what we know so far:

What is Project Blender

Project Blender is an open-entry competitive tournament for VALORANT in EMEA. Any team in the region can register provided they meet certain server ping requirements. It is built in phases, from a massive open bracket up to a final phase held offline.

It also features a mixed-gender component called Blender Spotlight. Mixed-gender rosters can try to qualify directly for the later phases of the competition.

Format and Phases

Phase 1 starts as a huge open bracket with up to 1,024 teams. Winners from Phase 1 go on to Phase 2.
Phase 2 will bring together those qualifiers plus teams from higher-tiers (Challengers, Game Changers, Premier, VRC) in a round-robin format among 64 teams.
Phase 3 then moves into a Swiss stage and knockout (single elimination) bracket among the remaining 32 squads.
Phase 4 is the finals, held offline (a LAN event). The top 8 from Phase 3 advance.

New Rules and Features

Project Blender introduces two significant rule systems:

Blender Draft: In each series, map-by-map agent selection by teams is restricted. For example after map one the agents used are banned in the next map, and similarly from map two into map three. This demands deeper agent pool, adaptability, strategy.
Challengers Call: Teams who qualify through earlier phases can choose their opponents in upcoming phases. That allows an element of strategy over whom to face next.

Rewards and Bounties

The prize pool is set at €75,000, partly for standard winnings, partly for bounty rewards. Bounties are special payouts for lower-tier or amateur teams beating higher-tier teams. These rewards scale depending on how big the tier difference is.

Blender Spotlight has its own prize too. It is a weekend event with a winner-takes-all reward. The winner from Spotlight secures direct entry into Phase 3 while second and third place get into Phase 2.

Who Can Compete

Any team from the EMEA region is eligible to sign up, from amateur to professional.
There is a technical requirement: participants must have latency under 80 ms on the Paris and Frankfurt servers.

Timeline and Key Dates

Registration opens in September 2025.
Phase 1 begins in October 2025 (open bracket, online to offline in some parts).
Blender Spotlight is set for November 3-4, 2025.
Phase 4 (finals) is in December 8-14, 2025, including offline matches.