How to run a Valorant deathmatch tournament (free-for-all format)

Deathmatch cups are the easiest Valorant tournament to fill: no teams, no captains, no five-stack that falls apart when one player sleeps in. They are also the easiest to get wrong, because there is no bracket to keep score for you. Here is a format that works for 12 to 100 players.

The shape of a deathmatch cup

1. Players register solo.
2. At check-in, the field is split into heats of up to 12 (the custom deathmatch lobby cap).
3. Each heat plays one deathmatch game.
4. Players score placement points by finishing position.
5. The top scorers across all heats play a final heat. The final decides the winner.

That is the whole tournament. The work is in the scoring, so decide it before you open registration.

Placement points

Use a simple descending scale: 12 points for first, 11 for second, down to 1 for twelfth. It rewards winning a heat but keeps a strong second-place finisher in contention. Kills are the tiebreak between equal points, then deaths (fewer is better).

Publish the scale in the rules so nobody argues about it afterwards.

Splitting into heats

• Balance the heats. If you have rank data, spread the highest-ranked players across heats rather than stacking one.
• Keep heats even in size. 30 players is three heats of 10, not two of 12 and one of 6.
• Give each heat a number and a lobby creator. The creator opens a custom game in Deathmatch mode on the agreed server and posts the code.

Running a heat

• The lobby creator sets Deathmatch mode, cheats off, and the agreed server.
• Wait for every player on the heat sheet to join before starting. A player who is not in the lobby ten minutes after the scheduled time is a no-show and scores zero for the heat.
• When the game ends, the lobby creator (or the host) takes a screenshot of the final scoreboard and enters the placements: position, kills, deaths for each player.

Advancing to the final

Decide how many advance before the cup starts, and make it a full lobby if you can: the top 12 by points (kills tiebreak) into one final heat. With more than five heats, run two semi-final heats first and take the top six from each.

The final is a single game and the winner of the final is the champion. Do not add up points from earlier heats into the final; it makes the last game meaningless for the leader.

Prizes and recap

Deathmatch cups are cheap to run, so a modest prize (a skin bundle, a small cash pot) goes a long way. Post the final standings with points, kills and the champion the same night.

Common mistakes

• Not deciding the tiebreak. Two players on equal points will happen. Kills, then fewer deaths, then a 1v1 if you must.
• Uneven heats. A player in a heat of 8 has a much easier path to 12 points than one in a heat of 12. Even out or scale points.
• No heat sheet. Every player needs to know their heat, their lobby creator, and their start time before the cup begins.
• Starting early. A player who joins two minutes late in deathmatch has already lost. Wait for the lobby.

Doing it with ValoTour

Create a tournament with the Free-for-all preset. At check-in, generate lobbies and the checked-in field is split into balanced heats of up to 12. Each lobby gets a match room where the creator posts the code. Enter placements from the scoreboard, and the standings (points, kills, deaths) update live for everyone. Create a final lobby from the top scorers and mark the champion when it ends; the recap and Discord announcement are automatic.