VALORANT Champions 2026 takes place in Shanghai from late September to mid-October 2026, and will crown the year’s best team after months of competition.
16 squads from the Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China will battle across two venues for a $2,250,000 prize pool and the world title. Here’s a full breakdown of confirmed teams, format, match schedule, and prize money distribution.
When is VALORANT Champions 2026?
VCT Champions 2026 runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 18, 2026. Running for a little over three weeks, the Group Stage and early Playoffs take place at Jing’an Sports Center, Shanghai, while the Finals Weekend will take place at Mercedes‑Benz Arena, Pudong, Shanghai.
The 2022 Champions are back.@LOUDgg secure the final spot to #VALORANTChampions Shanghai! pic.twitter.com/9KYmGQSBVp
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 5, 2026
As the tournament nears and Riot Games releases the full match schedule, I will update it here. You may bookmark this page for the latest match schedules and scores.
All qualified teams for VCT Champions 2026
There are 16 qualified teams for VCT Champions 2026. Each of the four international leagues sends four teams, two via Stage 2 Playoffs (winner and runner-up) and two via Championship Points.
Americas
- 100 Thieves (Stage 2 Playoffs)
- LOUD (Stage 2 Playoffs)
- NRG (Championship Points)
- G2 Esports (Championship Points)
EMEA
- Karmine Corp (EMEA Stage 2 winner)
- Team Liquid (EMEA Stage 2 runner-up)
- FUT Esports (Championship Points)
- Team Vitality (Championship Points)
Pacific
- Nongshim RedForce (Pacific Stage 2)
- Global Esports (Pacific Stage 2)
- T1 (Championship Points)
- Paper Rex (Championship Points)
China
- TYLOO (China Stage 2 winner)
- JD Gaming (China Stage 2 runner-up)
- EDward Gaming (Championship Points)
- XLG Esports (Championship Points)
NRG returns as world champions but entered via Points. The final slot was locked after LOUD’s run through the Americas lower bracket.
Your 16 #VALORANTChampions Shanghai teams are officially LOCKED IN! pic.twitter.com/ZoOYDM5viJ
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 5, 2026
Four Chinese teams (TYLOO, JDG, EDG, XLG) will play in front of a local crowd, honing a home-court advantage. Pacific’s new contenders, Nongshim RedForce and Global Esports, arrive as Stage 2 finalists, while T1 and Paper Rex bring deep international experience.
Karmine Corp and Liquid lead a stacked EMEA region that also includes FUT and Vitality.
VALORANT Champions 2026 format and prize pool distribution
Champions 2026 uses a two-phase structure: a Group Stage followed by an eight-team double-elimination Playoffs bracket.
Group Stage has 16 teams split into four groups of four (Groups A to D), with a double-elimination (GSL) within each group. All matches are best-of-3 (Bo3), and the top two teams from each group advance to the Playoffs.
Playoffs will have eight teams in a double-elimination bracket, with all matches Bo3, except the Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final, which will be Bo5.
They qualified for their first Masters this year, can they do the same for #VALORANTChampions?
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 3, 2026
Tune in tomorrow at 1 AM PT / 6 PM KST at https://t.co/GtOzxngYeq to find out! pic.twitter.com/73ikovsdI9
The total prize pool for Champions 2026 is $2,250,000, distributed across all 16 teams based on final placement:
| Place | Participant | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | TBD | $1,000,000 |
| 2nd | TBD | $400,000 |
| 3rd | TBD | $250,000 |
| 4th | TBD | $130,000 |
| 5th-6th | TBD TBD |
$85,000 |
| 7th-8th | TBD TBD |
$50,000 |
| 9th-12th | TBD TBD TBD TBD |
$30,000 |
| 13th-16th | TBD TBD TBD TBD |
$20,000 |
How to watch VCT Champions 2026
You can catch VCT Champions 2026 action live on their official Twitch and YouTube channels. There are a couple of other sources too, and you can find the links below:
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