Riot Games has revealed major updates for the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), introducing a refreshed competitive structure and a global spread of tournament destinations that promise to shake up the esports calendar.
The upcoming season will feature Masters events in Santiago, Chile and London, England, before concluding with VALORANT Champions in Shanghai, China. The announcement marks a significant expansion for the VCT as Riot pushes to make its circuit more global and accessible to fans around the world.
These are your #VCT 2026 locations.
Masters 1: Santiago, Chile
Masters 2: London, England
Champions: Shanghai, China pic.twitter.com/0fE4BEqou5— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) October 2, 2025
Masters Heads to New Cities
For the first time ever, a VALORANT Masters event will be held in South America. Santiago, Chile will host Masters 1, a landmark moment for the region’s growing competitive scene. Riot noted that the event will feature 12 teams instead of eight, meaning three teams from each international league will qualify.
“This is South America’s first global event, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Riot Games in the announcement. “The VALORANT scene there continues to grow, and this marks a big step forward.”
Masters 2 will take place in London, England, bringing the VCT to the UK for the first time. British fans have long awaited an international VALORANT event, and this addition finally delivers.
The season will then wrap up with VALORANT Champions 2026 in Shanghai, China, a return to one of the most successful event locations in recent VCT history. Riot cited the massive success of Masters Shanghai 2024 — which packed the Mercedes-Benz Arena and broke viewership records — as the reason for bringing Champions back to the city.
“After the incredible success of Masters Shanghai 2024, with a packed arena and record-breaking viewership, we knew we had to come back,” Riot said in its earlier August announcement.
A New Era for VCT
Beyond the new host cities, Riot also unveiled major format changes set to begin in 2026. All domestic and international events will now use bracket-based formats, moving away from the traditional Swiss and group stages. Kickoff will be extended with a triple-elimination format, creating more matches and opportunities for teams to prove themselves.
A standout addition is a new qualification path for Challengers teams, allowing top-tier 2 squads to qualify for Champions through the Stage 2 playoffs in their respective International Leagues. This replaces the Ascension system for 2026 and serves as a testbed for a more open and interconnected ecosystem leading into 2027.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Challengers teams that make it to Champions will receive revenue share from Champions digital goods and an equal share of the Stage 2 prize pool. Riot’s Global Head of VALORANT Esports, Leo Faria, also confirmed that these teams will receive additional financial support.
“Depending on where you are in the world, that stipend should pay for an entire season,” Faria explained on the Plat Chat podcast.
Expanding the Global Circuit
Riot is also expanding its roadshow system, bringing the Stage 2 playoffs of all four International Leagues to new cities within their regions. This follows successful events in Tokyo and Chongqing during the 2025 season. In 2026, the China League will take the boldest step yet, hosting its entire season across five different cities.
“As we spoke last June, we’re planning big changes to the VCT in 2027,” said Faria. “We’re building the next era of the sport — a VCT that’s more open, with more events and more variety of competition. But we’re not waiting until 2027 to start introducing these changes.”
With Santiago, London, and Shanghai on the calendar, and a new, more open format in the works, VCT 2026 looks set to be a defining year for VALORANT esports.