With all the four regional VCT Kickoff tournaments over and done with, it’s time to look forward to the upcoming VALORANT esports events in 2026.
Back in 2025, Riot Games announced the entire roadmap for the 2026 season of VALORANT Champions Tour. This includes the Masters tournaments, where all the top VALORANT teams will be in attendance.
Here’s our breakdown of all upcoming VALORANT events in 2026.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCT Americas Kickoff 2026 | January 15 to Feb 15 | Lan Ranked | USA | 12 | TBD |
| VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026 | January 20 to Feb 15 | Lan Ranked | Germany | 12 | TBD |
| VCT CN Kickoff 2026 | January 22 to Feb 15 | Lan Ranked | China | 12 | TBD |
| VCT Pacific Kickoff 2026 | January 22 to Feb 15 | Lan Ranked | South Korea | 12 | TBD |
| Predator League 2026: Asia-Pacific | Jan 9 to 11 | Lan | India | 16 | $110,000 USD |
In the month of January, we got to see the conclusion of the final VALORANT off-season tournament from the 2025 season: Acer Predator League 2026. Following this event, the official VALORANT 2026 season began for all 4 regions: Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and CN.
Each regional VCT League hosted their Kickoff tournament in the second of third week of the month. Each of the four VCT Kickoff tournaments will be played in LAN arenas in front of a live audience.
The top three teams from each of the four leagues would qualify for the first international tournament: VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valorant Masters Santiago 2026 | Feb 28, 2026 To Mar 16, | LAN |
Espacio Riesco, Santiago | 12 | TBD |
| VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA Clash 2026 | Feb 20 – 26, 2026 | Online | Germany | 12 | TBD |
All four regional VCT Kickoff tournaments will conclude by the second week of February. In the 2025 season, only the top two teams from each league qualified for VALORANT Masters Bangkok 2025. In 2026, Riot Games made a major change, shifting it to the top 3 teams.
VALORANT Masters Santiago will take place in Chile at the end of the month. The top 12 teams in the VALORANT Champions Tour will take part in this tournament. Teams that finish as the first seed of their regional VCT league will receive a bye to the playoff round of the tournament. Teams that finished as second and third seeds would need to play in the Swiss stage of the tournament. The winner of this tournament will receive a sum of $350,000 and 6 Championship points.
Following the completion of VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026, VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA Clash 2026 will take place in Germany. The top team from each of the 6 VALORANT Challengers League will face off against 6 teams from the VCT EMEA League. The goal of this tournament is to showcase players in the Challengers Leagues and their talents against some of the best teams in VCT EMEA.
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| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCT Pacific Stage 1 2026 | Apr 3, 2026 to May 17 | LAN |
Ho Chi Minh City | 12 | TBD |
| VCT EMEA Stage 1 2026 | Apr 3, 2026 to May 17 | LAN | TBD | 12 | TBD |
| VCT Americas Stage 1 2026 | Apr 3, 2026 to May 17 | LAN | TBD | 12 | TBD |
| VCT CN Stage 1 2026 | Apr 3, 2026 to May 17 | LAN | TBD | 12 | TBD |
In the first week of April, the VCT Stage One tournament for all 4 regional leagues will begin. This tournament will take place over a span of 6 weeks. The group stage of the tournament will take place in the same location as that of the VCT Kickoff 2026 in the respective region. The finals phase of VCT Pacific Stage One is slated to take place in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The top 3 teams from the 4 VCT Stage One tournaments will qualify for VALORANT Masters London 2026. This will be the second VALORANT Masters tournament of the year.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valorant Masters London 2026 | Jun 6 to 21 | LAN | London | 12 | TBD |
The second VALORANT Masters Tournament will take place in London. The top 3 teams from each of the regional VCT Stage One tournaments will qualify for VALORANT Masters London. The winner of the tournament will receive a sum of $350,000. Similar to VALORANT Masters Santiago, the tournament will have a Swiss Stage and Playoffs Stage. Teams that finish first in their respective leagues will receive a bye to the playoff stage. Based on a draw following the Swiss Stage, the first seed teams will be able to select which team they would like to face in their first match in the playoffs.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCT Pacific Stage 2 2026 | Jul 16, 2026 – Sep 6 | LAN | South Korea | 12 | TBD |
| VCT EMEA Stage 2 2026 | Jul 16, 2026 – Sep 6 | LAN | 12 | TBD | |
| VCT Americas Stage 2 2026 | Jul 16, 2026 – Sep 6 | LAN | 12 | TBD | |
| VCT CN Stage 2 2026 | Jul 16, 2026 – Sep 6 | LAN | 12 | TBD | |
| VALORANT X EWC 2026 | July 7. 2026 – July 15 | LAN | Riyad, Saudi Arabia |
Prior to VCT Stage Two beginning in all VCT regions, VALORANT X EWC 2026 will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It does feel similar to the 2025 season; teams that qualify for VALORANT Masters London will receive a spot at VALORANT X EWC 2026. The tournament will take place during the first week of the Esports World Cup 2026.
In the third week of July, the VCT Stage Two tournament for all 4 regional leagues will begin. This tournament will take place over a span of 6 weeks. The group stage of the tournament will take place in the same location as that of the VCT Kickoff 2026 in the respective region. The finals phase of all VCT Pacific Stage Two tournaments will take place in 4 different cities. This is being to make it possible for fans in other countires to get to experience VALORANT Esports near them.
The top 3 teams from the 4 VCT Stage Two tournaments will qualify for VALORANT Champions 2026. The 4th team to qualify for VALORANT Champions 2026 in each region will be based on the total Championship points a team has earned. The team with the highest amount of Championship points at the end of the VCT Stage Two will secure a spot at VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026.
| Event | Date | Type | Location | Teams | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALORANT Champions 2026 | Sep 24, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026 | LAN | Shanghai, China | 12 | TBD |
The final tournament in the VALORANT Esports 2026 season is VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026. This will be the second international VALORANT tournament to take place in Shanghai. Previously, the city hosted VALORANT Masters Shanghai in the 2024 season. The grand finals of the tournament were between Gen G and Team Heretics.
VALORAN Champions Shanghai 2026 will consist of the top 16 teams in the VALORANT Champions Tour. Similar to previous seasons, VALORANT Champions 2026 will consist of a group stage and a playoff stage. The winner of the tournament will be crowned as the best team in VALORANT Esports in 2026.
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