Valorant 10 mans are one of the best ways to play competitive Valorant outside of ranked. You get 10 people in a Discord server, split into two teams, and play a custom game. The problem is everything around the actual game: finding 10 players who are online and want to play, picking teams that aren't horribly lopsided, remembering who won last week, and dealing with the guy who insists he's better than everyone despite losing 4 in a row.
Most Valorant 10-man communities on Discord handle this manually. Someone pings a role, waits for enough people to reply, captains pick teams, and results get tracked in a spreadsheet (or not at all). It works for a few games but falls apart fast once you have 20+ active players.
This guide walks through setting up fully automated Valorant 10 mans in Discord using Team Up. Players join a queue with a button press, the bot balances teams by Elo, maps get voted on, and results update ratings automatically. The entire flow takes about 10 minutes to set up.
What You Need Before Starting
- A Discord server with at least 10 people who want to play
- Team Up bot added to your server (invite from the Discord App Directory)
- A leaderboard (if you don't have one yet, follow the leaderboard setup guide first, takes 2 minutes)
If you already have a leaderboard with some matches recorded, even better. The bot will use existing Elo ratings to balance teams from the start.
Step 1: Create the Queue
One command creates a fully automated 5v5 Valorant queue:
/queue_versus headless queue_name:val-10mans title:Valorant 10 Mans description:Elo-balanced 5v5 customs — hit Join to queue up team_size:5 match_start_channel:#match-results match_end_channel:#match-history team_formation:balanced_teams leaderboard:Valorant
Here's what the key options do:
- queue_name — internal identifier, used in other commands (
val-10mans) - title — what players see at the top of the queue embed
- description — short tagline shown under the title
- team_size — 5 for a standard Valorant 5v5
- match_start_channel — where active matches get posted when the queue pops
- match_end_channel — where completed match results are logged
- team_formation —
balanced_teamsmakes the bot find the closest possible Elo split - leaderboard — which leaderboard's ratings to use for balancing and tracking
The bot posts a queue message with a Join button. That's your queue. It stays open permanently.
The headless mode means the queue doesn't wait for a host to start the match. As soon as 10 players are in, it pops automatically. If you want a host to control when the match starts (useful for organized events), use /queue_versus hosted instead. The host manages the lobby manually and kicks it off when everyone's ready.
Step 2: How the Queue Works
The flow is simple:
- Players click Join to enter the queue
- At 10 players, the queue locks and the bot splits teams
- Teams are posted in your match channel with player names and Elo ratings
- Players play their Valorant custom game
- Both teams vote on the result (Red Wins, Blue Wins, Tie, or Cancel)
- Ratings update automatically when both teams agree
The queue reopens immediately after a match pops, so other players can queue for the next game while the current one is being played. You can run multiple 10 mans simultaneously without any extra setup.
What "Balanced Teams" Actually Does
This is the part that makes Elo-balanced 10 mans so much better than captain picks or random teams.
When 10 players join the queue, the bot doesn't randomly split them. It evaluates team combinations to find the two teams with the closest total Elo. Here's an example:
| Player | Elo |
|---|---|
| Player A | 1620 |
| Player B | 1510 |
| Player C | 1485 |
| Player D | 1440 |
| Player E | 1380 |
| Player F | 1350 |
| Player G | 1290 |
| Player H | 1240 |
| Player I | 1180 |
| Player J | 1105 |
A random split might give you:
- Team 1: 1620 + 1510 + 1485 + 1440 + 1380 = 7,435
- Team 2: 1350 + 1290 + 1240 + 1180 + 1105 = 6,165
That's a 1,270 Elo gap. Team 1 stomps, Team 2 stops queuing. The classic death spiral of casual 10 mans.
With balanced teams:
- Red Team: 1620 + 1350 + 1290 + 1180 + 1380 = 6,820
- Blue Team: 1510 + 1485 + 1440 + 1240 + 1105 = 6,780
A 40-point gap. Both teams have a fair shot. Games are competitive. People queue again.
Other Team Formation Options
Balanced teams is the default for ranked play, but you have options:
- Captain draft — two captains take turns picking players (highest Elo, lowest Elo, random, or volunteer). Great for organized events where people enjoy the draft process
- Random teams — completely random split. Fine for casual lobbies where nobody cares about balance
- Players choose — players pick their own teams before the match starts
Want to prevent friend-stacking and queue dodging? Use /queue_anonymous headless instead. It's a separate queue type where player identities are hidden until the match ends.
Step 3: Add a Valorant Map Pool
Set up a map pool so players can vote on maps when a match pops. Here's the current competitive rotation:
/settings map_pool add pool:valorant-maps map_name:Abyss
/settings map_pool add pool:valorant-maps map_name:Bind
/settings map_pool add pool:valorant-maps map_name:Breeze
/settings map_pool add pool:valorant-maps map_name:Corrode
/settings map_pool add pool:valorant-maps map_name:Haven
/settings map_pool add pool:valorant-maps map_name:Pearl
/settings map_pool add pool:valorant-maps map_name:Split
This matches the Season 26 Act 1 ranked rotation. Since these are custom games, you can add any Valorant map you want (Ascent, Icebox, Lotus, Sunset, whatever your community plays). You can also have up to 25 maps per pool.
Then assign it to your queue through the Admin Actions dropdown on the queue message → Map Voting. You can choose between a simple vote (each player picks a map, most votes wins) or a captains ban format with rerolls (closer to how competitive Valorant does pick/ban).
When a match pops, the map vote runs automatically and the result is shown in the match message.
Step 4: Set Up Auto Voice Channels
This is what makes the experience feel like a real matchmaking system instead of a Discord bot.
Open the Admin Actions dropdown on your queue message and select Configure Auto-Channels. Set a voice channel category (e.g., "10 Mans") as the target.
When a match pops:
- The bot creates two voice channels under that category (one per team)
- Players join their team's channel
- When the match ends, the bot cleans up the channels
No manual channel management. No "which channel is Red Team?" confusion.
Step 5: Tier Roles (Mirroring Valorant Ranks)
One of the things that keeps Valorant ranked addictive is the visible rank. You can replicate that in your Discord server with tier roles that mirror Valorant's rank system:
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:1800 role:@Radiant
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:1650 role:@Immortal
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:1500 role:@Ascendant
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:1350 role:@Diamond
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:1200 role:@Platinum
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:1050 role:@Gold
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:900 role:@Silver
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:750 role:@Bronze
/tiers create rating_type:Global required_elo:0 role:@Iron
When a player's Elo crosses a threshold, their role updates automatically. They'll see their rank in the member list and in chat. It's a small thing that makes people care a lot more about their rating.
You can also do rank-based tiers (e.g., @Champion for the #1 rated player, @Top 10 for the top 10) if you prefer that over Elo thresholds.
Tier roles are a Pro feature, included in the $1.99/month plan.
Step 6: Track Stats Beyond W/L
Basic win/loss doesn't tell you much. Did that player carry or get carried? Team Up lets you track custom stats per match:
Set up Valorant-specific stats on your leaderboard:
- Kills (number, aggregation: sum)
- Deaths (number, aggregation: sum)
- Assists (number, aggregation: sum)
- ACS (number, aggregation: average)
When recording matches (or when players vote on results), these stats can be submitted alongside the outcome. Over time, you build a complete statistical profile for every player: Elo, KDA, average combat score, and any other metric you want to track.
Player profiles on the web dashboard show all of these stats alongside their match history. For a full walkthrough of setting up and managing custom stats, see our custom stats guide.
Settings Worth Configuring
All of these are available through the Admin Actions dropdown on your queue message:
Rematch Cooldown
Prevents the same players from being matched against each other repeatedly. Set a cooldown in minutes, or block rematches entirely within that queue. Useful when you have a small player pool and the same matchup keeps happening.
Max Elo Difference
Lock the queue to a skill range. If you want to run a "Diamond+" queue for your best players, set a max Elo difference so players below a certain rating can't join. You can run separate queues for different skill brackets.
Idle Timeout
How long a player can sit in the queue without the match popping before they get removed. Default is 10 minutes. Lower it if you want faster turnover, raise it if your community tends to queue and tab out.
Match Result Mode
- Ranked — results affect Elo (the default for competitive 10 mans)
- Unranked — results get recorded but don't change ratings (good for practice)
- Admin approval — results need a moderator to confirm before ratings update (good for high-stakes leagues)
Scaling Up
Once your 10 mans are running, a few things will happen naturally:
More players show up. Automated queues with fair teams and visible ratings attract people. You'll go from struggling to find 10 players to having multiple games running simultaneously.
People want different formats. Some players want 1v1 aim duels, others want unranked scrims. Create additional queues for different formats:
/queue_versus headless queue_name:val-duels title:Valorant 1v1 Duels team_size:1 match_start_channel:#match-results match_end_channel:#match-history leaderboard:Valorant-Duels
You outgrow one leaderboard. Create separate leaderboards for different formats (5v5 ranked, 1v1 duels, unranked customs) so ratings stay meaningful within each format.
People from other games want queues too. The same setup works for CS2, Overwatch, Rocket League, League of Legends, or any game with team-based customs. Create a new leaderboard, create a new queue, and you're running.
Why Elo-Balanced 10 Mans Beat Ranked
Valorant's built-in ranked queue is fine for solo grinders, but it doesn't let you play with your whole community. In a Discord 10 mans setup:
- You play with people you know. The social element is the whole point
- Games are balanced by actual skill data. Not Riot's hidden MMR that sometimes puts Diamonds against Silvers
- Stats are transparent. Every player can see exactly why they gained or lost rating
- You control the rules. Map pools, team formation methods, ranked vs. unranked. Your community decides
- No smurfs (mostly). Everyone's on their main Discord account with a rating history
The competitive experience is better when the community controls it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do I need to start?
Technically 10 for a single queue pop, but you'll want at least 15-20 active players so there's always enough people to fill a game. The queue stays open permanently, so players can join whenever they're free.
Can I run this alongside Valorant ranked?
Absolutely. Most players treat Discord 10 mans as the "fun competitive" option for playing with friends, separate from solo/duo ranked grinding. Your Elo in Team Up is independent from your Valorant rank.
What about smurfs?
Since everyone is on their main Discord account with a visible rating history, smurfing is much harder than in Valorant ranked. You can also use the max Elo difference setting to restrict queues by skill level, and the anti-farming detection flags suspicious rating patterns.
Can players queue for multiple games at once?
No. A player can only be in one active queue at a time. This prevents people from queuing for everything and ghosting when one pops.
What if someone goes AFK mid-game?
The match result still gets recorded normally. If someone consistently abandons games, that'll show up in their win rate and rating. You can also undo specific matches with /record_match undo if a game was ruined by an AFK.
Does this cost anything?
The free tier supports 3 leaderboards and 50 matches per day. For most 10-man communities, that's plenty. If you're running multiple queues with heavy traffic, Pro is $1.99/month and gives you 25 leaderboards, 250 matches per day per leaderboard, and tier roles.
Get Started
- Add Team Up to your server
- Set up a leaderboard (2 minutes)
- Create your Valorant queue with the command above (1 minute)
- Tell your server to queue up
The whole setup takes under 10 minutes. Your first Elo-balanced Valorant 10 mans can be running tonight.
Need help? Check the matchmaking docs, the Valorant setup guide, or ask in our Discord community.
Running 10 mans for a different game? This same setup works for CS2, Overwatch, Rocket League, and more. Just change the team size and map pool.