Valorant Premier Divisions Explained

Premier is VALORANT's in-game team competition. Instead of queuing alone and earning RR, you build a team of five to seven players, play scheduled matches against teams of a similar level, and try to win a playoff bracket at the end of each Stage. Winning moves your team up a division, and the highest division is connected to Riot's Challengers leagues. This guide explains the Premier divisions in order, how a team gets placed and promoted, and how Premier relates to your normal competitive rank and MMR.

Premier divisions in order (lowest to highest)

1. Open
2. Intermediate
3. Advanced
4. Elite
5. Contender
6. Invite (the top division)

The lower divisions are split into numbered tiers, which is why you see names like Advanced 1 or Elite 5. Riot's announcement of the promotion system uses exactly these examples: a team in Advanced 1 that wins its playoffs moves to Advanced 2 for the next Stage, and a team in Elite 4 is described as "two playoff tournament wins away from Contender" (Premier: Promotion and Connecting to Pro Play). Invite was added above Contender later, so older guides that call Contender the top of Premier are out of date. Riot's support article now calls Invite "the top-tier division within Premier" (Premier: Contender & Invite Divisions).

Who can play Premier

According to Riot's Premier team creation and management article:

• A Premier team has 5 to 7 players.
• Every player must have a verified account and must have completed at least one ranked placement in the account's lifetime.
• A behavior penalty or restriction makes a player ineligible to join a team or queue for Premier for 30 days from the start of the penalty. If you are dealing with one of those, our guide to VALORANT AFK and queue dodge penalties explains how they are handed out.

Because you need a completed placement, you also need access to Competitive in the first place, which Riot ties to Account Level 20 (Competitive Mode FAQ).

How your team's starting division is decided

A new team does not start in Open by default. Riot places it in a provisional division based on the average MMR of its top five players, and a large skill gap inside the roster can push the team higher so the strongest player is weighted more (same team creation article). After the team's first match the division locks in, and the owner and captains can no longer invite players who would change it. The team's zone, which decides the server region it plays in, also locks after the first match.

This is the main link between Premier and your solo queue performance: the division your team starts in is driven by the hidden MMR of its players, not by the rank badges they show. If you want to know where you stand before you build a roster, the free MMR calculator shows whether your MMR sits above or below your visible rank. Our explainer Hidden MMR vs. visible rank covers why those two numbers drift apart.

Weekly matches and playoff qualification

A Premier Stage runs for most of an Act. During the Stage your team plays weekly matches against teams in its own division and zone, then the best teams play a playoff tournament. How you qualify depends on the division:

• Open to Elite: earn at least 600 Premier Score to qualify for playoffs. A higher score gives a better seed (Premier: Playoff Tournaments).
• Contender and Invite: qualification is based on standings at the end of the weekly matches, with ties broken by Premier Score, then total matches played, then round differential (Contender & Invite article).

Riot's playoff article also sets out the tournament format:

• A bracket holds up to 8 teams and can start with as few as 2, depending on who queues at the scheduled time.
• Playoff matches are best of one, so one loss eliminates you.
• From Open to Elite, the five players who queue for the first playoff match are locked in for the whole tournament, because substitutions during tournaments are not supported. Contender and Invite teams can substitute between playoff matches, but only with players who were already on the roster when playoffs started.
• Open to Elite playoffs are played on one day with at least a five-minute break between matches. Contender and Invite playoffs are spread over several days.

How promotion works

The rule is simple: win your playoff tournament and your team is promoted one step for the next Stage. Riot attaches two conditions to it in the promotion announcement:

• The promotion belongs to the team. You can change players afterwards, but if you leave and create a new team, the promotion does not follow you.
• It is only valid for the next Stage. If the team skips that Stage, standard placement rules apply the next time it plays.

There is no shortcut through the tiers: a team that wins every playoff still climbs one tier per Stage. That is why the time it takes a new team to reach Contender depends heavily on where its players' MMR places it at the start.

Contender eligibility and the path to Challengers

Teams in Contender and Invite can only add players who have Contender Eligibility. A player has it if, in the current or previous Stage, they did at least one of the following (Contender & Invite Divisions):

• played a weekly or playoff match for a team in Contender or Invite,
• reached a peak rank of Immortal 3 or higher in Competitive, or
• played a playoff match in Elite 5.

At the top, Riot says that "the top team(s) from each Invite Division earn the opportunity to make it into a Challengers League." Premier is therefore the official route from ranked play into the semi-pro scene, but only for teams that keep winning at the highest division.

Premier division vs. competitive rank

Your Premier division and your competitive rank are separate. Premier matches do not give or take RR, and a Premier promotion does not change the rank badge you see in Competitive. They are connected in two places only:

• your MMR helps decide the division a new team starts in, and
• a peak rank of Immortal 3 or higher counts towards Contender Eligibility.

If you want to improve the second one, it helps to understand how the top of the ladder works. See VALORANT ranks in order for the regional Immortal and Radiant thresholds and how the VALORANT leaderboard works for what happens once you reach Immortal.

Tips before you register a team

• Check everyone's eligibility first. One player with a recent penalty or no completed placement blocks the roster.
• Pick the zone carefully. It locks after the first match, so choose the server your whole team plays on with good ping.
• Do not stack a much stronger player into a weak roster expecting an easy division. Riot weights the strongest player more when it sees a big skill gap.
• Keep a stable five for playoffs. Below Contender you cannot substitute during the tournament.

FAQ

What is the highest division in VALORANT Premier?

Invite. It sits above Contender, and its top teams can earn a chance to enter a Challengers League.

How many players does a Premier team need?

Between five and seven players. Five play each match.

How do you get promoted in Premier?

Win your division's playoff tournament. The team moves up one step for the next Stage, as long as it plays in that Stage.

Does Premier affect my competitive rank?

No. Premier has its own divisions and does not change your RR. Your MMR only affects the provisional division a new team starts in.

What is Contender Eligibility?

The requirement to play in Contender or Invite: a recent Contender or Invite match, an Immortal 3+ peak rank, or an Elite 5 playoff match in the current or previous Stage.

Rules checked against Riot's VALORANT support articles on Premier (team creation, playoff tournaments, Contender & Invite divisions) and the Premier promotion announcement in November 2026. Riot adjusts Premier between Stages, so check the in-game Premier tab for the current schedule.