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VCT 2027 Global Tour: Format, Host Cities and Qualification Explained
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In brief
Riot Games has replaced the Valorant Champions Tour's long regional league seasons with a "tournament-first" calendar for 2027, built around Opens, Kickoff, Cups, Masters and Champions events in 15 cities. Any team, partnered or not, now has a direct qualification path to Masters and Champions through open qualifiers that begin in November 2026.
Riot Games announced the 2027 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Global Tour on October 15, 2026, replacing the extended league-play seasons used in previous years with a structure the publisher calls "tournament-first." The new calendar is built around five tournament types — Opens, Kickoff, Cups, Masters and Champions — and includes more than 50 tournaments across the year, according to the official VCT esports site.
Why the format is changing
According to Riot's announcement, the goal is to cut down on long stretches of regular-season league matches and replace them with shorter, high-stakes tournaments where "every match matters." Partner organizations remain part of the ecosystem, but Riot says that after the Kickoff stage, advancement in 2027 is determined by on-court performance rather than partner status alone.
For the first time in VCT history, non-partner teams that win through open qualifiers have a direct route to Masters and Champions, the same events partner franchises compete in. Riot is also offering guaranteed financial support to qualifying open teams: $100,000 for reaching a regional Kickoff event, $200,000 for a Masters berth and $400,000 for reaching Champions, according to a regional breakdown for EMEA published by GamesPress.
How the season is structured
The season runs in three cycles. Each cycle opens with regional, online Open Qualifiers, feeds into a LAN event (Kickoff for the first cycle, Cup 1 and Cup 2 for the second and third), and the strongest teams from each LAN event advance toward the next Masters or Champions tournament. The EMEA region, for example, runs qualifiers in three sub-regions — Europe, Türkiye and MENA — each with two separate single-elimination Kickoff Qualifier brackets played in Best-of-Three matches, giving teams two chances to advance.
In EMEA, four non-partner teams advance through qualifier playoffs (two from Europe, one from Türkiye, one from MENA) to join eight partner teams in the 12-team EMEA Kickoff event, according to GamesPress. The qualifier playoff dates and formats differ by sub-region: Europe's playoffs run November 26 to December 5 with a modified double-elimination bracket and a Best-of-Five final; Türkiye's run November 25 to December 6 using a GSL-style group stage feeding into double elimination, also with a Best-of-Five final; and MENA's run from deciders on November 20 to a final on December 6, also decided in Best-of-Five. GamesPress also lists player eligibility rules for the qualifiers: competitors must be at least 17 years old and have reached the Ascendant 1 rank, and each roster must include at least three players from its home region.
Host cities and schedule
The Global Tour spans 15 cities. Kickoff events for the four partnered regions run January 14 to February 7, 2027, in São Paulo (VCT Americas), Berlin (VCT EMEA), Bangkok (VCT Pacific) and Hangzhou (VCT China), according to Hotspawn's rundown of confirmed locations. Masters 1 follows in Seoul from February 20 to March 3.
Cup 1 runs April 29 to May 23 in Mexico City, Warsaw, Manila and Wuhan. Masters 2 is set for Valencia, Spain, from June 5 to June 20. Cup 2 runs August 5 to August 29 in Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Tokyo and Shanghai. The season concludes with Valorant Champions and the Game Changers Championship, both held in Austin, Texas, from September 16 to October 10, 2027.
| Event | Dates | Host city/cities |
|---|---|---|
| Kickoff (4 regions) | Jan 14 – Feb 7, 2027 | São Paulo, Berlin, Bangkok, Hangzhou |
| Masters 1 | Feb 20 – Mar 3, 2027 | Seoul |
| Cup 1 (4 regions) | Apr 29 – May 23, 2027 | Mexico City, Warsaw, Manila, Wuhan |
| Masters 2 | Jun 5 – Jun 20, 2027 | Valencia |
| Cup 2 (4 regions) | Aug 5 – Aug 29, 2027 | Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Tokyo, Shanghai |
| Champions + Game Changers Championship | Sep 16 – Oct 10, 2027 | Austin, Texas |
Manila's Pacific Cup and the regional reshuffle
Manila will host Cup 1 for the VCT Pacific region, running April 29 to May 23, 2027, the Philippine Star reported, citing the Global Tour announcement. Teams competing there will be aiming for a spot at Masters Valencia. The report also notes a structural change to VCT Pacific: South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam now each run dedicated national pathways, while the Philippines competes alongside Malaysia, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries in a separate Pacific Wild Card qualification track rather than a standalone national one.
The Philippine Star piece frames the announcement against the country's VCT history, citing players such as Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza, winner of Masters Toronto and a VCT Pacific Stage 2 title, as well as Bren Esports' run to the Valorant Champions 2022 playoffs, as background on the Philippines' standing in the region.
What stays the same
Game Changers, Riot's competition track for women and marginalized genders in Valorant esports, continues in 2027 but now concludes at Champions rather than running as a fully separate circuit, per the official Global Tour announcement. Partner teams — organizations with existing franchise slots in the VCT ecosystem — keep guaranteed slots in Kickoff events in their home regions, but must earn results afterward to keep progressing through Cups toward Masters and Champions.
Key qualification dates already set
- Kickoff Qualifiers begin in November 2026 across partnered regions, per the official VCT announcement.
- EMEA sub-region Open Qualifiers: MENA Nov 1–11, Europe Nov 5–15, Türkiye Nov 10–21 (two brackets each), per GamesPress.
- EMEA sub-regional Kickoff Qualifier Playoffs, which decide the four non-partner teams advancing to EMEA Kickoff, run on different dates by sub-region: MENA Nov 20–Dec 6, Türkiye Nov 25–Dec 6 and Europe Nov 26–Dec 5, 2026, per GamesPress.
- Kickoff LAN events for all four partnered regions run Jan 14–Feb 7, 2027, per Hotspawn's location list.
Questions
- What is different about VCT 2027 compared to previous seasons?
- Riot Games replaced the long regional league seasons with a tournament-first calendar of more than 50 shorter events (Opens, Kickoff, Cups, Masters, Champions), and for the first time non-partner teams have a direct qualification path to Masters and Champions, according to the official VCT announcement.
- When do VCT 2027 qualifiers start?
- Kickoff Qualifiers begin in November 2026; in EMEA, for example, the MENA, Europe and Türkiye qualifier brackets run between November 1 and November 21, 2026, per GamesPress.
- Where are the 2027 Masters and Champions events held?
- Masters 1 is in Seoul (Feb 20–Mar 3), Masters 2 is in Valencia (Jun 5–20), and Valorant Champions plus the Game Changers Championship are both held in Austin, Texas (Sep 16–Oct 10), according to Hotspawn's rundown of confirmed host cities.
- Is Manila hosting a VCT 2027 event?
- Yes. Manila hosts VCT Pacific's Cup 1 from April 29 to May 23, 2027, with winners advancing toward Masters Valencia, the Philippine Star reported.
- Can non-partner teams still reach Champions in 2027?
- Yes. Riot's announcement states that after Kickoff, advancement is determined by performance, giving any team — partnered or not — a direct route to Masters and Champions through open qualifiers, with guaranteed financial support for qualifying open teams.
Sources
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