Valorant Champions 2026 Schedule: Dates, Format & Venues

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The Valorant Champions 2026 schedule is locked in, and the final world championship of the franchise era opens today in Shanghai. Sixteen teams from the four VCT regions have three weeks and change to settle who lifts the trophy. The event runs from September 24 to October 18, starting in a GSL group stage at the Jing’an Sports Center before moving to the Mercedes-Benz Arena for finals weekend. Here’s the full schedule, format and team list for VCT Champions 2026.

Valorant Champions 2026 Key Dates at a Glance

Champions is the centrepiece of the V26 Tour, a year-long roadshow festival that has brought VCT events to China throughout 2026. The tournament splits into three phases:

Stage	Dates	Venue
Group Stage	September 24 – October 4	Jing’an Sports Center
Playoffs (early bracket)	October 7 – October 11	Jing’an Sports Center
Finals Weekend (Top 4)	October 16 – October 18	Mercedes-Benz Arena

Jing’an Sports Center and Mercedes-Benz Arena: The Shanghai Venues

The early rounds belong to the Jing’an Sports Center, which hosts every group stage match and the opening playoff rounds. That’s 11 days of action across two blocks, with two matches scheduled each day.

For the last four teams standing, the stage gets a lot bigger. The tournament moves to the Mercedes-Benz Arena for finals weekend, a venue with capacity for 18,000 fans. For China’s first Champions, it’s a fitting setting for the final trophy lift of the franchise era.

Valorant Champions 2026 Teams: All 16 Qualified Rosters

Each of the four VCT regions sends four teams. Spots were earned either by winning the Stage 2 regional playoffs or by building enough VCT Championship Points across the season.

Region	Stage 2 Champion	Team 2	Team 3	Team 4
Americas	100 Thieves	LOUD	NRG	G2 Esports
EMEA	Karmine Corp	Team Liquid	FUT Esports	Team Vitality
Pacific	Global Esports	Nongshim RedForce	Paper Rex	T1
China	TYLOO	JD Gaming	EDward Gaming	XLG Esports

NRG arrive as defending champions, but they did it the long way this year. It was 100 Thieves who claimed the Americas Stage 2 title.

Valorant Champions 2026 Format: How the GSL Group Stage Works

The group stage uses a GSL double-elimination format:

• The 16 teams are split into four groups of four.
• Two wins sends a team through; two losses sends it home.
• Every group stage match is a Best-of-3.
• No same-region matchups are allowed in the opening round.
• The top two teams from each group advance to the playoffs.

Each group runs through three rounds. The Opening Matches pair teams off. Winners meet in the Winners Match, where the victor books a playoff spot. The losers of the Opening Matches meet in the Elimination Match, where the loser goes out. The final spot is settled in the Decider Match, between the loser of the Winners Match and the winner of the Elimination Match.

Valorant Champions 2026 Opening Matches Schedule

Eight Bo3s across four days kick things off, and the no-regional rule is on full display. Every opener is a cross-region clash.

Date	Match	Regions
Sep 24	Team Liquid vs Paper Rex	EMEA vs Pacific
Sep 24	TYLOO vs G2 Esports	China vs Americas
Sep 25	Nongshim RedForce vs NRG	Pacific vs Americas
Sep 25	Karmine Corp vs XLG Esports	EMEA vs China
Sep 26	Global Esports vs Team Vitality	Pacific vs EMEA
Sep 26	LOUD vs EDward Gaming	Americas vs China
Sep 27	100 Thieves vs T1	Americas vs Pacific
Sep 27	JD Gaming vs FUT Esports	China vs EMEA

The standout for day two is NRG vs Nongshim RedForce, the champions’ first test of their title defence. On home soil, all four Chinese sides are in action during the opening round, with TYLOO first up against G2 Esports on day one.

Group Stage Schedule: Winners, Elimination and Decider Matches

After a one-day break on September 28, the group stage resumes with the matches that decide who advances. All are Bo3, with matchups set by the opening round results.

Date	Round	Matches
Sep 29	Winners Match	2
Sep 30	Winners Match	2
Oct 1	Elimination Match	2
Oct 2	Elimination Match	2
Oct 3	Decider Match	2
Oct 4	Decider Match	2

By the end of October 4, eight teams will be heading to the playoffs and eight will be heading home.

Valorant Champions 2026 Playoffs Schedule: October 7–11

After a short break, the top eight enter a double-elimination bracket. Every match in the early bracket is a Bo3.

Date	Round	Matches
Oct 7	Upper Bracket Quarterfinals	2
Oct 8	Upper Bracket Quarterfinals	2
Oct 9	Lower Bracket Round 1	2
Oct 10	Upper Bracket Semifinals	2
Oct 11	Lower Bracket Quarterfinals	2

The double-elimination structure means no team is out after one bad series in the playoffs. A loss in the upper bracket drops a team down rather than out, giving the stronger sides a safety net as the stakes rise.

Finals Weekend Schedule: Grand Final at the Mercedes-Benz Arena

The final four meet across October 16–18 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The last four matches of the event are:

• Upper Bracket Final (Bo3)
• Lower Bracket Semifinal (Bo3)
• Lower Bracket Final (Bo5)
• Grand Final (Bo5)

The switch to Best-of-5 for the last two series is where Champions gets its edge. Five maps test map pools, adaptation and stamina in a way a Bo3 can’t, and it’s where the most complete team usually wins out.