The preliminary round is scheduled to take place on Saturday (August 21) and next Sunday (August 22), starting with a Swiss-style tournament on the opening day.

Players are randomly matched against opponents with similar records in the Swiss-style format.

Day two then has the top eight players advancing to the playoffs, with single elimination quarter and semi-finals.

The final is set to be over the best-of-three format.

"We are thrilled to launch our first official gaming event together with CSL Esports," said Lisette Johnson-Stapley. 

"This initial tournament will provide valuable experience and enhanced recognition for Canadian university esports programmes, as they prepare for the inaugural 2021-2022 season beginning this fall."

All players will be competing in the new NACE StarLeague, which is run by CSL Esport and the National Association of Collegiate Esports.

More than 14,500 students and 600 colleges are expected to participate in the league.

"We're excited to kickoff our U SPORTS partnership with Valorant, the collegiate community has shown such passion for this title," said CSL Esports chief executive Rob Johnson.

"This will be the first of many great events we will coordinate with U SPORTS as we continue to build on the amazing college esports community in Canada."

Valorant is a free-to-play first-person hero shooter, available on PC.

Registration is open until the opening day of the tournament.