With Nongshim RedForce winning VALORANT Masters Santiago, all eyes are on VCT Pacific Stage 1 2026. The event will take place from April 3 to May 17, with the playoffs happening in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. There is a lot at stake as the top three teams from here will secure their spot in the VALORANT Masters London.
It is fair to say that VCT Pacific is the toughest league in VALORANT esports. All four teams that won the last four Masters are from the Pacific region. Therefore, here’s everything you need to know about the VCT Pacific Stage 1.
| Event | VCT Pacific Stage 1 |
|---|---|
| Location | Seoul and Ho Chi Minh |
| Format | Group stage into a double-elimination bracket playoff |
| Teams | 12 |
| Betting favorite | Nongshim RedForce |
Image source: Riot Games
The VCT Pacific Stage 1 consists of two phases: the group stage (April 3 to May 3) and the playoffs (May 7 to 17).
In the group stage, the 12 teams will compete in a single round-robin, best-of-three format. The top four will advance to the playoff stage.
Teams that finish first in their respective groups will receive a bye to the upper bracket semi-finals. Teams that finish second and third will receive a seed to the first round of the upper bracket. The teams that finish in fourth place in their group will be seeded in the first round of the lower bracket.
Therefore, it is crucial for teams to finish in the top 3 spots in their group to get a chance to play in the upper bracket.
The playoff stage will be played in a double-elimination bracket after the first set of matches. All matches, excluding the lower bracket final and the grand final, will be best-of-three. The lower bracket final and grand final will be best-of-five.
Image source: Riot Games
The 12 teams taking part in the VCT Pacific Stage 1 are as follows:
Looking at the betting odds for teams to win this tournament, the favorites to win are the reigning champions of VALORANT Masters Santiago, Nongshim RedForce, who are also undefeated this season. They are currently on an eight-match winning streak.
It must be noted that following the competition, VALORANT did nerf Yoru quite a bit, the agent that was the go-to for Nonghsim’s francis.
Another team to keep a close eye on is Paper Rex. While they did lose the grand final of VALORANT Masters Santiago with a 3-0 scoreline, they are still one of the best teams in the world. If we take a look at the betting odds, they are the next favorites to win this tournament.
One aspect about Paper Rex that no one can deny is their ability to dominate in the lower bracket. During both VCT Pacific Kickoff and VALORANT Masters Santiago, the team was able to make a deep run to the grand final.
The one aspect that Paper Rex will need to work on during this competition is how they deal with teams stalling against them. Against Nonghsim RedForce, we saw that if a team can stall Paper Rex for around 20 seconds each round, their win rate reduces drastically. Keep that in mind when live betting on VALORANT esports.
If we had to give a dark horse pick for this tournament, it would be Global Esports. Since the start of the VCT 2026 season, the team had surprised many fans due to their playstyle. While the only matches they lost during the tournament were against the likes of Paper Rex and Detonation FocusMe.
Also read: Will Miks change the VALORANT meta? Early analysis of Riot’s new controller
Featured image source: Riot Games
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