he 2026 season opens with a redesigned triple-elimination Kickoff Tournament.
Twelve teams in each league will compete for early-season dominance, with the top four teams from Champions 2025 receiving first-round byes.

The top three teams from every regional Kickoff event will qualify for the expanded Masters Santiago, now featuring 12 international teams.

Kickoff Start Dates

• VCT Americas: January 15

• VCT EMEA: January 20

• VCT Pacific: January 22

• VCT China: January 22

2026 VCT Franchised Teams

VCT Americas (12 Teams)

• 100 Thieves

• Cloud9

• Evil Geniuses

• KRU Esports

• Leviatán

• MIBR

• NRG

• G2 Esports

• LOUD

• Sentinels

• FURIA

• Shopify Rebellion

VCT EMEA (12 Teams)

• Team Vitality

• Fnatic

• FUT Esports

• Gentle Mates

• Giants

• Team Heretics

• KOI

• Natus Vincere

• Team Liquid

• Karmine Corp

• BBL Esports

• SCARZ

VCT Pacific (12 Teams)

• DRX

• Paper Rex

• Gen.G

• ZETA Division

• Global Esports

• Rex Regum Qeon

• Talon Esports

• Dplus KIA

• DetonatioN FocusMe

• Bleed Esports

• Team Secret

• TBA (new franchise slot)

VCT China (12 Teams)

• Attacking Soul Esports

• Bilibili Gaming

• EDward Gaming

• FPX

• JDG

• Rare Atom

• Nova Esports

• TYLOO

• Trace Esports

• Wolves Esports

• LGD Gaming

• Xtreme Gaming

2026 VCT Season Schedule

January – February: Kickoff Tournament

• Regional triple-elimination Kickoff events.

• Top 3 teams per league qualify for Masters Santiago.

March – May: Stage 1

• Regional league play from March 1 to May 10.

May – June: Stage 1 Playoffs

• League playoffs determining championship points and qualification paths.

• Takes place May 11–24.

June – July: Masters Santiago

• 12-team global Masters event hosted in Santiago.

• Held June 29 – July 13.

July – August: Stage 2

• Second league stage runs July 30 – August 15.

August – September: Season Finals

• Regional season finals determine final championship qualifiers.

• Hosted August 21 – September 7.

September – October: VALORANT Champions 2026

• The main event of the competitive year.

• Taking place September 29 – October 18.

November: The Gauntlet

• Post-season event titled “The Gauntlet”, running November 7 – November 22.