Riot Games has unveiled new details regarding the 2027 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) season. The information was shared through the company's social media channels.
The upcoming reformative season will completely replace the traditional league format with open qualifiers and Cup tournaments. The developers provided further details on the role of partnered teams within the new ecosystem and announced substantial financial support for independent organizations.
In the Americas, Pacific, and EMEA regions, each league will feature eight partnered teams that will receive direct invitations to the season-opening VCT Kickoff tournament. In total, 12 teams will participate in each Kickoff event — eight partnered organizations and four winners from open qualifiers. The top three teams from each regional Kickoff will advance to the first Masters event of the year.
Automatic invitations for partnered teams will only apply at the beginning of the season. After that, every team will have to earn its place through competition. The new format is built around a promotion and relegation system. Poor performances at Cups or Masters events will send teams down to the Open Playoffs stage or all the way back to the next open qualifiers.
Some regional differences will remain. In China, eight partnered teams and two guest teams will receive direct invitations not only to Kickoff but also to the first two Cups. Meanwhile, VCT Pacific will feature a Last Chance Qualifier, where teams from South Asia and Oceania will compete for spots in Kickoff and Cup events.
The overall 2027 season calendar will consist of Kickoff, the first Masters event, Cups 1, the second Masters event, Cups 2, and the season-ending Champions tournament.
Teams that qualify through open qualifiers will retain their earned slots and invitations as long as they keep at least three of their five players on the roster.
To improve the financial sustainability of the competitive scene, Riot Games is introducing guaranteed participation payments for non-partnered teams that qualify for major events. In addition to standard prize money, teams will receive the following amounts for qualifying:
- Qualification for Kickoff or a Cup — $100,000
- Qualification for Masters — $200,000
- Qualification for Champions — $400,000
An additional $100,000 bonus will be awarded to non-partnered organizations that qualify for the Game Changers Championship, the premier women's VALORANT tournament.
As a reminder, the UK government funded civil servants to play GTA Online as part of a project aimed at understanding citizens' needs.