The most important changes to the VCT 2025 format

As the VCT approaches its five year anniversary in 2025, Riot is adding new formatting changes that will hopefully improve the competition.

The Valorant Champions Tour is preparing to begin its fifth season ahead of the 2024 Champions, and Riot is announcing several upcoming changes. Originally, locations were leaked in a since-deleted tweet. The new official Valorant video confirmed several new tournament places and introduced new formats and schedules.

For those looking for a quick summary, here are the major upcoming changes for VCT 2025.

Major 2025 VCT changes include expanded calendar, new formats

Riot’s new changes to the 2025 VCT promise to make the tournament more competitive while maintaining the same level of enjoyment for players and fans.

To start, the 2025 VCT season will run from January to October rather than the usual August. Head of Valorant esports Leo Faria stated that the change would help shorten the offseason while giving players time to rest. In an effort to maintain stakes throughout the year, Riot is currently reworking the championship points system to improve distribution and better benefit teams who compete in Masters.

An expanded season leads to a reshuffling of events, with Challengers also getting shifted around. The prospective 2025 Valorant Champions Tour timeline consists of the following events.

• January-February: Kickoff
• February-March: Masters Bangkok
• March-April: Stage 1 and Playoffs
• June: Masters Toronto
• July-August: Stage 2 and Playoffs
• September-October: Champions

Additionally, several of the 2025 VCT season events are getting reformatted. Kickoffs, for instance, will feature 12 teams rather than 11 in a straight double-elimination bracket. The top two teams will then go onto Masters Bangkok. Stage 1 and its playoffs will qualify teams for Masters Toronto, while Stage 2 seems to lead straight into Champions. Also in Stage 2, Riot is expanding the competition from six to eight teams to increase opportunities to qualify for global events.

Lastly, the top teams from playoffs and teams with the most championship points will move on to Champions in Paris. A total of sixteen teams will get the chance to compete, although the distribution between playoff teams and points-based teams hasn’t been clarified.

Fan feedback is generally positive so far with excitement over the new formats. Time will tell if the 2025 VCT formatting changes improve or hinder the competition, but the future seems to be bright.