The 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour is almost here, and Riot Games is kicking off the new competitive year with a bigger calendar, fresh league formats, returning hopefuls, and the most open path to Champions we have seen yet. With more live events, more teams on stage, and more international play, this season is shaping up to be the busiest in VCT history.

An action packed year.

Check out the 2026 #VCT Schedule! pic.twitter.com/MoYqnfC4fD

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) December 2, 2025

Here is your full guide to the VCT 2026 season, covering the schedule, new teams, format changes, and how the revamped Path to Champions works.

A Fresh Look at the 2026 Season

Riot has confirmed that the season will begin in January and conclude in October with VALORANT Champions Shanghai. Fans can also expect double the number of series compared to 2025, along with an expanded international presence throughout the year.

Image Credit: Riot Games

The 2026 competitive circuit includes:

• VCT Kickoff: Jan 15 to Feb 15
• Masters Santiago: Feb 28 to Mar 15
• Stage 1: Mar 31 to May 24
• Stage 1 Playoffs: May 6 to 24
• Masters London: Jun 6 to 21
• Stage 2: Jun 30 to Aug 16
• Season Finals: Aug 5 to Sep 6
• VALORANT Champions Shanghai: Sep 24 to Oct 18
• Game Changers Championship: October and November

This year will also bring more changes to the Championship Points system, which determines which organisations qualify for the final showdown in Shanghai.

New Teams Entering the Race

Image Credit: Riot Games

A new season brings new contenders. Four fresh squads have officially joined the International Leagues after ascending from their regional Challenger systems:

• ENVY
• PCIFIC
• ULF
• SLT Seongnam

They join Nongshim Redforce and Dragon Ranger Gaming, two teams that successfully qualified again for 2026. All of them will compete for a place at Champions Shanghai, adding more depth to each region’s talent pool.

Kickoff 2026: Triple Elimination Begins

The season starts with a major revamp to Kickoff. For the first time, VCT will use a triple elimination bracket, giving teams more chances to recover from early losses.

Image Credit: Riot Games

Key Kickoff details include:

• 12 teams per league
• Top four teams from Champions 2025 get a first-round bye
• Top three teams per league qualify for Masters Santiago
• Kickoff start dates:
• • Americas: Jan 15
  • EMEA: Jan 20
  • Pacific: Jan 22
  • China: Jan 22

With the expanded Masters Santiago featuring 12 teams, the early stakes are higher than ever.

Masters Santiago: The First Global Test

Running from February 28 to March 15, Masters Santiago will be the first international LAN of the year. Twelve teams, three from each major league, will battle for the first major title of 2026.

Championship Points for Masters Santiago:

• Winner: 6
• Runner-up: 4
• Third place: 3
• Fourth place: 2
• Fifth and sixth: 1

These points will matter, particularly for teams eyeing an early cushion on their road to Shanghai.

Stage 1: Two Groups. One Round Robin. High Stakes.

Stage 1 begins on March 31 and follows a straightforward format:

• 12 teams split into two groups of six
• Single round robin
• Best-of-three matches
• Five weeks of competition

Only the top four teams from each group will advance to the Stage 1 Playoffs. Teams finishing in the bottom two are eliminated with no chance at Masters London, raising the pressure early in the year.

The top three teams from the Stage 1 Playoffs will qualify for Masters London, taking place from June 6 to June 21.

Masters London: The Final Masters of the Year

Masters London follows the same structure as Santiago, again featuring 12 teams. With eight Championship Points awarded to the winner, this event could break the standings wide open heading into the final push for Champions.

Stage 2: New Locations, Live Crowds, and Higher Stakes

Stage 2 will run from June 30 to August 16, and this time every International League will host its playoffs as a live event in a brand new city. Riot will confirm the host cities in early 2026.

Stage 2 will act as the final stop before Season Finals and Champions qualification, making it a critical leg of the season for nearly every team.

Season Finals: One Step From Shanghai

Running from August 5 to September 6, the Season Finals will award up to eight Championship Points to the winners. These points often decide the final qualification slots for Champions.

VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026

The biggest event of the year takes place from September 24 to October 18, featuring 16 teams battling for the most prestigious title in competitive VALORANT.

Shanghai will also have stricter roster rules due to local regulations, most notably a minimum age requirement of 18 for all players.

A New Route for Challenger Teams

The biggest structural change in 2026 is the transformation of the Challenger ecosystem.

This year:

• Ascension is gone
• Challenger teams can qualify directly to Stage 2 Playoffs
• They can earn a spot at Champions Shanghai by defeating partnered teams
• Each qualified team receives a USD 75,000 stipend to support travel and logistics
• Challenger teams may field players aged 16 and above at IL Playoffs (except VCT China)

Across every territory, four Challenger teams will qualify for Stage 2 Playoffs.

Regional Slot Allocation

VCT Americas

Direct slots go to:

• Top team from North America Challengers
• Top team from Brazil Challengers
• One slot for LATAM, determined through a LATAM North vs LATAM South final
• Final slot via a Last Chance Qualifier between:
• • NA second seed
  • Brazil second seed
  • LATAM finals loser

VCT EMEA

• Top four Challengers teams will be seeded using points and placements

VCT Pacific

Direct slots go to:

• Top team from Southeast Asia
• Top team from Japan
• Top team from Korea

The last slot will be decided through a Last Chance Qualifier featuring:

• South Asia
• Oceania
• Southeast Asia second and third seeds

VCT China

• Full qualification details will be revealed soon

Roster Construction and Eligibility

Key rules for 2026 include:

• Academy teams can compete in Challengers but cannot enter the Path to Champions
• Academy relegation protection is removed
• Affiliate teams can qualify without severing affiliations
• No roster transfers during Stage 2 Playoffs and Champions lock periods
• Challenger teams may compete with up to two global imports
• China maintains an 18+ age requirement across all tiers

Riot has also confirmed it is working toward a unified global ruleset in 2027.

Premier Qualification to Challengers

Players grinding Premier can still reach the Challenger Leagues, but they must follow regional residency rules. Teams should check their gamepod mappings and eligibility before aiming to rise into the tier above.

Game Changers Championship Returns

The VALORANT Game Changers Championship will once again crown a world champion in October and November 2026. Riot will announce the host city at a later date.

The post VCT 2026 Season Unveiled: Schedules, Format, and Everything You Need To Know appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Riot Games has revealed major updates for the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), introducing a refreshed competitive structure and a global spread of tournament destinations that promise to shake up the esports calendar.

The upcoming season will feature Masters events in Santiago, Chile and London, England, before concluding with VALORANT Champions in Shanghai, China. The announcement marks a significant expansion for the VCT as Riot pushes to make its circuit more global and accessible to fans around the world.

These are your #VCT 2026 locations.

Masters 1: Santiago, Chile
Masters 2: London, England
Champions: Shanghai, China pic.twitter.com/0fE4BEqou5

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) October 2, 2025

Masters Heads to New Cities

For the first time ever, a VALORANT Masters event will be held in South America. Santiago, Chile will host Masters 1, a landmark moment for the region’s growing competitive scene. Riot noted that the event will feature 12 teams instead of eight, meaning three teams from each international league will qualify.

“This is South America’s first global event, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Riot Games in the announcement. “The VALORANT scene there continues to grow, and this marks a big step forward.”

Masters 2 will take place in London, England, bringing the VCT to the UK for the first time. British fans have long awaited an international VALORANT event, and this addition finally delivers.

The season will then wrap up with VALORANT Champions 2026 in Shanghai, China, a return to one of the most successful event locations in recent VCT history. Riot cited the massive success of Masters Shanghai 2024 — which packed the Mercedes-Benz Arena and broke viewership records — as the reason for bringing Champions back to the city.

“After the incredible success of Masters Shanghai 2024, with a packed arena and record-breaking viewership, we knew we had to come back,” Riot said in its earlier August announcement.

A New Era for VCT

Beyond the new host cities, Riot also unveiled major format changes set to begin in 2026. All domestic and international events will now use bracket-based formats, moving away from the traditional Swiss and group stages. Kickoff will be extended with a triple-elimination format, creating more matches and opportunities for teams to prove themselves.

A standout addition is a new qualification path for Challengers teams, allowing top-tier 2 squads to qualify for Champions through the Stage 2 playoffs in their respective International Leagues. This replaces the Ascension system for 2026 and serves as a testbed for a more open and interconnected ecosystem leading into 2027.

Image Credit: Riot Games

Challengers teams that make it to Champions will receive revenue share from Champions digital goods and an equal share of the Stage 2 prize pool. Riot’s Global Head of VALORANT Esports, Leo Faria, also confirmed that these teams will receive additional financial support.

“Depending on where you are in the world, that stipend should pay for an entire season,” Faria explained on the Plat Chat podcast.

Expanding the Global Circuit

Riot is also expanding its roadshow system, bringing the Stage 2 playoffs of all four International Leagues to new cities within their regions. This follows successful events in Tokyo and Chongqing during the 2025 season. In 2026, the China League will take the boldest step yet, hosting its entire season across five different cities.

“As we spoke last June, we’re planning big changes to the VCT in 2027,” said Faria. “We’re building the next era of the sport — a VCT that’s more open, with more events and more variety of competition. But we’re not waiting until 2027 to start introducing these changes.”

With Santiago, London, and Shanghai on the calendar, and a new, more open format in the works, VCT 2026 looks set to be a defining year for VALORANT esports.

The post Riot Unveils VCT 2026 Locations and Format Changes appeared first on Shane the Gamer.