Fortress Melbourne have announced that five of the eight teams from the Oceania Pro League (OPL), the now-defunct League of Legends tournament, have been given direct invites to the 32-team Rise of Valour First Strike qualifiers: Avant, Dire Wolves, Gravitas, Legacy, and Order.
Some of the OPL’s most veteran organisations are making the jump into Valorant as Riot onboards teams for their first in-house organised event.
Fortress Melbourne, the tournament organiser for the Oceanic First Strike qualifiers, announced in a press release on October 20 that five of the eight final OPL organisations will be given a direct invite through the Open Qualifiers and into the top 32 Rise of Valour tournament.
They are Avant, Dire Wolves, Gravitas, Legacy, and Order.
Gravitas, Legacy, and Order are yet to sign Valorant rosters in Oceania. Dire Wolves previously had a roster, however they disbanded after finishing 9-10th in Rise of Valour (Ignition Series) and 5-6th in the Oceanic Valorant Open.
AVANT x VALORANT
— Avant (@AvantGaming) August 22, 2020
We are thrilled to be entering the Valorant scene with a top tier team!
Welcome, boys. 🔥#AVVALORANT | @PlayVALORANT pic.twitter.com/RofmcwFDp8
Avant is currently the only OPL organisation with an active team in Valorant. They finished outside of the prizing in Rise of Valour, however made the final of the Conkmodo Spring Valorant Slam back in September.
Chiefs, Mammoth, and Pentanet will not be joining the OPL orgs invited to the Rise of Valour First Strike qualifiers. The three teams invited in their place are regional champions Exo Clan, Ground Zero, and Mindfreak.
Rise of Valour is the path towards First Strike in Oceania. There are two Open Qualifiers, where the top 24 teams across both weekends will qualify to face off against the eight invited teams for one of the final spots in First Strike.
The Open Qualifiers will be held on October 24 & 25, as well as October 31 & November 1.
The Rise of Valour Closed Qualifier will start on November 14, and will run until November 29. The top eight teams from Rise of Valour will qualify for the First Strike regional finals, with $20,000 on the line.
