How the VCT season works

Events on the calendar

Event	Status	Dates	Location	Prize
VALORANT Champions 2026	Ongoing	Sep 24 to Oct 18, 2026	Shanghai	$2,250,000
VCT GC Americas LCQ	Upcoming	Oct 14 to Oct 15, 2026	São Paulo
Project Blender 2026 Phase 2	Upcoming	Oct 21 to Oct 24, 2026	Paris
VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2026	Upcoming	Oct 22 to Nov 1, 2026	São Paulo
Monsters Reloaded 2026	Upcoming	Oct 24 to Oct 25, 2026	Istanbul	$35,000
THE POKAL 2026	Completed		Germany Austria Switzerland	€2,200 EUR (≃ $2,553 USD)
VCT GC LATAM Final	Completed		Mexico City	$300,000 MXN (≃ $17,678 USD)
VCT GC NA S2	Completed	Jul 13 to Sep 17, 2026	Los Angeles	$60,000
VCT EMEA Stage 2	Completed	Jul 15 to Aug 30, 2026	Berlin Badalona	$250,000
VCT Americas Stage 2	Completed	Jul 16 to Sep 6, 2026	Los Angeles São Paulo	$250,000
VCT Pacific Stage 2	Completed	Jul 16 to Sep 6, 2026	Seoul Busan	$250,000
VCT GC BR Final	Completed	Aug 10 to Sep 11, 2026	São Paulo	R$100,000 BRL (≃ $19,592 USD)
VALORANT China Evolution Series 2026 Act 3	Completed	Sep 3 to Sep 13, 2026	China
VCT GC China	Completed	Sep 13 to Sep 20, 2026	China
VCT GC Pacific	Completed	Sep 14 to Sep 20, 2026	Bali	$20,000

Formats and key facts

VCT EMEA Stage 2

Starts

2026-07-15

Ends

2026-08-30

Location

Berlin Badalona

Venue

Riot Games Arena Olimpic Arena (Finals Weekend)

Type

Offline

Prize pool

$250,000 USD

Teams

16

Organizer

Riot Games

Series

VCT

Tier

S-Tier

• Group Stage: July 15th – August 2nd, 2026
• Two Single-Round Robin Groups
• Each Group has 6 teams
• All matches are Bo3
• Top 2 teams from each group advance to Playoffs
• Winners have a bye into the Upper Bracket Semifinals
• 2nd placed teams advance to Upper Bracket Round 1
• 3rd & 4th placed teams advance to Play-In Upper Bracket Round 2
• 5th & 6th placed teams advance to Play-In Upper Bracket Round 1
• Play-Ins: August 6th – 16th, 2026
• 12-team Double-Elimination bracket
• 8 teams from Group Stage
• 4 teams from Regional Challengers
• Challenger Team seeds are drawn at the end of the Group Stage
• All matches are Bo3
• Top 2 teams advances to Upper Bracket Round 1
• 3rd & 4th placed teams start from Lower Bracket Round 1
• Playoffs: August 20th – 30th, 2026
• Double-Elimination bracket
• All matches (excl. Lower Bracket Final & Grand Final) are Bo3
• Lower Bracket Final & Grand Final are Bo5
• Top 2 teams qualify for Champions
• Starting Playoffs, Abyss replaces Breeze in the map pool.

VCT Americas Stage 2

Starts

2026-07-16

Ends

2026-09-06

Location

Los Angeles São Paulo

Venue

Riot Games Arena (Group Stage + Playoffs) Suhai Music Hall (Top 4)

Type

Offline

Prize pool

$250,000 USD

Teams

16

Organizer

Riot Games

Series

VCT

Tier

S-Tier

• Group Stage: July 16th – August 9th, 2026
• Two Single-Round Robin Groups
• Each Group has 6 teams
• All matches are Bo3
• Top 2 teams from each group advance to Playoffs
• Winners have a bye into the Upper Bracket Semifinals
• 2nd placed teams advance to Upper Bracket Round 1
• 3rd & 4th placed teams advance to Play-In Upper Bracket Round 2
• 5th & 6th placed teams advance to Play-In Upper Bracket Round 1
• Play-Ins: August 13th – 23rd, 2026
• 12-team Double-Elimination bracket
• 8 teams from Group Stage
• 4 teams from Regional Challengers
• All matches are Bo3
• Top 2 teams advances to Upper Bracket Round 1
• 3rd & 4th placed teams start from Lower Bracket Round 1
• Playoffs: August 27th – September 6th, 2026
• Double-Elimination bracket
• All matches (excl. Lower Bracket Final & Grand Final) are Bo3
• Lower Bracket Final & Grand Final are Bo5
• Top 2 teams qualify for Champions
• Starting Playoffs, Abyss replaces Breeze in the map pool.

VCT Pacific Stage 2

Starts

2026-07-16

Ends

2026-09-06

Location

Seoul Busan

Venue

Sangam Colosseum (Group Stage + Playoffs) Sajik Indoor Gymnasium (Top 4)

Type

Offline

Prize pool

$250,000 USD

Teams

16

Organizer

Riot Games

Series

VCT

Tier

S-Tier

• Group Stage: July 16th – August 9th, 2026
• Two Single-Round Robin Groups
• Each Group has 6 teams
• All matches are Bo3
• Top 2 teams from each group advance to Playoffs
• Winners have a bye into the Upper Bracket Semifinals
• 2nd placed teams advance to Upper Bracket Round 1
• 3rd & 4th placed teams advance to Play-In Upper Bracket Round 2
• 5th & 6th placed teams advance to Play-In Upper Bracket Round 1
• Play-Ins: August 13th – 24th, 2026
• 12-team Double-Elimination bracket
• 8 teams from Group Stage
• 4 teams from Regional Challengers
• All matches are Bo3
• Top 2 teams advances to Upper Bracket Round 1
• 3rd & 4th placed teams start from Lower Bracket Round 1
• Playoffs: August 26th – September 6th, 2026
• Double-Elimination bracket
• All matches (excl. Lower Bracket Final & Grand Final) are Bo3
• Lower Bracket Final & Grand Final are Bo5
• Top 2 teams qualify for Champions
• Starting Playoffs, Abyss replaces Breeze in the map pool.

VALORANT Champions 2026

Starts

2026-09-24

Ends

2026-10-18

Location

Shanghai

Venue

Mercedes-Benz Arena (Top 4) Jing'an Sports Center (Group Stage & Playoffs)

Type

Offline

Prize pool

$2,250,000 USD

Teams

16

Organizer

Riot Games

Series

VCT V26 Tour

Tier

S-Tier

• Group Stage: September 24th – October 4th, 2026
• Four Double-Elimination Format (GSL) Groups
• Each group has 4 teams
• All matches are Bo3
• Top 2 teams from each group advance to the Playoffs
• Draw for Group Stage was done live at São Paulo Suhai Music Hall after the end of Americas Stage 2 Grand Final by Nick Weatherlow & Tonello
• Playoffs: October 7th – 18th, 2026
• 8-team Double-Elimination bracket
• All matches (excl. Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final) are Bo3
• Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final are Bo5

VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2026

Starts

2026-10-22

Ends

2026-11-01

Location

São Paulo

Venue

Riot Games Arena

Type

Offline

Teams

10

Organizer

Riot Games

Series

VCT

Tier

S-Tier

• Knockouts:
• 10 teams, Double-Elimination bracket
• All matches (excl. Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final) are Bo3
• Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final are Bo5

VALORANT China Evolution Series 2026 Act 3

Starts

2026-09-03

Ends

2026-09-13

Location

China

Type

Online

Teams

16

Series

CN Evolution Series

Tier

A-Tier

• Playoffs:
• Single-Elimination bracket
• All matches (excl. Third Place Match and Grand Final) are Bo3
• Third Place Match and Grand Final are Bo5
• Teams that qualify for VALORANT Champions Shanghai ( TYLOO, JD Gaming, EDward Gaming & XLG Esports) are not sending their main roster to this tournament in order to ensure training and preparation.

Common questions