VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 is the first full league split of the year for teams from North and South America, and it takes place between late March and late May as part of Riot’s revamped VALORANT esports calendar.
12 partnered organizations return from the Kickoff period and Masters Santiago to chase championship points, a spot at Masters London, and an early lead in the race toward Champions 2026.
Like last time, the league will be split into a long group stage followed by Playoffs, where every win will add to each team’s points tally. The top three squads at the end of Stage 1 will head to Masters London, while the rest will fight to stay in the mix for Stage 2 and the season finals.
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VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 schedule
VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 starts from April 10 and will end on May 25, 2026. Group Stage runs from April 10 to May 11, while Playoffs run from May 14 to 25. Matchdays will be spread across multiple weeks with regular best-of-three matches.
The league will be held at Riot Games Arena in the United States, following the same structure as other international leagues, including a Group Stage that will run for several weeks, before heading into a Playoff bracket to close out the split.
VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 matches
Here’s the full schedule:
Group Stage matches
Friday, April 10, 2026
-
Sentinels 0 – 2 KRÜ Esports
- 8-13 Lotus
- 9-13 Breeze
-
G2 Esports 0 – 2 MIBR
- 8-13 Lotus
- 14-16 Split
Saturday, April 11, 2026
-
100 Thieves 2 – 0 Evil Geniuses
- 13-8 Haven
- 13-4 Breeze
-
ENVY 1 – 2 LOUD
- 13-9 Lotus
- 11-13 Pearl
- 8-13 Breeze
Sunday, April 12, 2026
-
Cloud9 0 – 2 LEVIATÁN
- 6-13 Pearl
- 5-13 Haven
-
FURIA 2 – 0 NRG
- 13-7 Pearl
- 13-10 Split
Friday, April 17, 2026
-
Cloud9 1 – 2 ENVY
- 13-11 Split
- 5-13 Pearl
- 9-13 Haven
-
FURIA 2 – 1 Evil Geniuses
- 12-14 Haven
- 13-5 Pearl
- 13-10 Lotus
Saturday, April 18, 2026
-
G2 Esports 1 – 2 LEVIATÁN
- 13-6 Breeze
- 11-13 Split
- 12-14 Bind
-
MIBR 2 – 0 LOUD
- 13-10 Haven
- 13-4 Split
Sunday, April 19, 2026
-
NRG 0 – 2 KRÜ Esports
- 10-13 Lotus
- 8-13 Split
-
100 Thieves 0 – 2 Sentinels
- 10-13 Haven
- 17-19 Split
Friday, April 24, 2026
-
LEVIATÁN 2 – 0 ENVY
- 13-4 Bind
- 13-4 Fracture
-
G2 Esports 2 – 0 LOUD
- 13-9 Haven
- 13-10 Pearl
Saturday, April 25, 2026
-
FURIA 0 – 2 KRÜ Esports
- 4-13 Lotus
- 10-13 Haven
-
NRG 2 – 1 100 Thieves
- 9-13 Pearl
- 13-10 Lotus
- 13-2 Breeze
Sunday, April 26, 2026
-
Evil Geniuses 0 – 2 Sentinels
- 7-13 Haven
- 11-13 Bind
-
MIBR 0 – 2 Cloud9
- 12-14 Breeze
- 12-14 Split
Friday, May 1, 2026
- Evil Geniuses vs NRG
- LEVIATÁN vs MIBR
Saturday, May 2, 2026
- KRÜ Esports vs 100 Thieves
- FURIA vs Sentinels
Sunday, May 3, 2026
- LOUD vs Cloud9
- G2 Esports vs ENVY
Friday, May 8, 2026
- KRÜ Esports vs Evil Geniuses
- FURIA vs 100 Thieves
Saturday, May 9, 2026
- G2 Esports vs Cloud9
- ENVY vs MIBR
Sunday, May 10, 2026
- LOUD vs LEVIATÁN
- Sentinels vs NRG
All qualified teams at VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1
VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 will see 12 partnered teams battling head-to-head. Here are the partnered Americas teams in 2026:
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9
- Evil Geniuses
- FURIA
- KRÜ Esports
- Leviatán
- LOUD
- MIBR
- NRG
- Sentinels
- G2 Esports
- ENVY
Teams got drawn into Alpha and Omega based on Kickoff seeds:
| Group Alpha | Group Omega |
|---|---|
| MIBR (Brazil) | NRG (United States) |
| Cloud9 (United States) | FURIA (Brazil) |
| Leviatán (Argentina) | 100 Thieves (United States) |
| LOUD (Brazil) | Evil Geniuses (United States) |
| G2 Esports (United States) | Sentinels (United States) |
| ENVY (United States) | KRÜ Esports (Argentina) |
VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 format explained
Stage 1 uses a two-phase structure. The Group Stage will have 12 teams split into two groups of six, with a single round-robin format, where every team plays five best-of-three series in its group.
Each match win will give one Championship point, and the top four teams from each group advance to the Playoffs. The bottom two teams in each group are eliminated from Stage 1. Groups are created using six seeding pools, all based on Kickoff results, with the top two, mid-table, and lower-placed Kickoff teams distributed to keep things competitive.
The Playoffs will have eight teams in total (top four from each group), with an upper and lower bracket structure. The first and second-placed group teams will start in the upper bracket round one, while fourth-placed teams begin in the lower bracket. Matches are BO3 in the initial rounds, and finals will be BO5.
VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 Championship Points distribution
Coming to the Championship Points distribution from VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1, it’ll look like this:
| Position | Team | Championship Points | Masters London Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | TBD | 6 | Masters London |
| 2nd | TBD | 4 | Masters London |
| 3rd | TBD | 3 | Masters London |
| 4th | TBD | 2 | – |
| 5th and 6th | TBD | – | |
| 5th and 6th | TBD | – | |
| 7th and 8th | TBD | – | |
| 7th and 8th | TBD | – | |
| 9th and 10th | TBD | – | |
| 9th and 10th | TBD | – | |
| 11th and 12th | TBD | – | |
| 11th and 12th | TBD | – |
These numbers stack on top of whatever teams earned in Kickoff and Masters Santiago, and they will also influence seeding and qualification for later events like Stage 2, Season Finals, and Champions later this year.
VCT 2026 keeps the same international structure across all regions, where 1st, 2nd, and 3rd placed team will qualify for Masters London. Masters London is the second international event of the year after Masters Santiago, so Stage 1 becomes even more important.
Pacific, China, and EMEA teams also go back to their respective regions for a shot at VCT Masters London later this year.
