Riot Games has officially announced massive changes to the VALORANT esports ecosystem for 2027. The new competitive season will run under the motto "Everything is a tournament" and will become more open: the developers plan to host over 50 tournaments spanning 15 cities worldwide.
New Tournament Structure and Level Playing Field
In 2027, the VCT ecosystem will be built on a new structure consisting of Opens, Kickoff, Cups, Masters, and Champions. Although partner teams will remain an important part of the league, after the Kickoff stage, they will follow the same qualification path as other teams. Their progression will depend entirely on their competitive performance.
Open teams will have significantly more opportunities to break into the VCT and challenge established organizations. Riot Games has also promised enhanced financial support for these teams, including guaranteed qualification payments.
Changes to Game Changers and In-Game Items
Among other major updates, the Game Changers Championship finale will now become part of the main Champions tournament, drawing the largest audience in the discipline's history. Furthermore, the developers will update the esports in-game bundle: instead of a Classic pistol, players will receive a Ghost skin.
Tournament Schedule and Locations for 2027
The new season will actually begin in November 2026 with the Kickoff Qualifiers, but the main events of 2027 will follow this schedule:
- Kickoff (January 14 – February 7): tournaments will take place in São Paulo (Americas), Berlin (EMEA), Bangkok (Pacific), and Hangzhou (China).
- Masters Seoul (February 20 – March 3): the South Korean capital will host the first international event of the year.
- First Regional Cup (April 29 – May 23): matches will be held in Mexico City (Americas), Warsaw (EMEA), Manila (Pacific), and Wuhan (China).
- Masters Valencia (June 5 – June 20): the second international tournament will take place in Spain.
- Final Regional Cup (August 5 – August 29): competitions will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro (Americas), Istanbul (EMEA), Tokyo (Pacific), and Shanghai (China).
The competitive year will conclude with a massive combined finale. VALORANT Champions and the Game Changers Championship 2027 will take place from September 16 to October 10 in Austin, United States. The developers promise to reveal more details regarding the regional qualifiers in the near future.
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