International VALORANT is back, and this time it has crossed into new territory. VALORANT Masters London 2026 is the second global VCT event of the year, and it marks the first time Riot has brought a global VALORANT tournament to the United Kingdom. Twelve teams, a million dollars, and a London crowd that has been waiting years for this.
Here is everything you need to know before the first shots fire on June 6.
When and where is Masters London 2026?
Masters London runs from June 6 to June 21, 2026, at the Copper Box Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The venue holds around 7,500 fans and is no stranger to Riot events, having hosted the League of Legends 2023 Mid-Season Invitational. This is, however, the first international VALORANT competition ever held on British soil.
It is the second Masters of the 2026 season, following Masters Santiago earlier in the year, and one of the final big checkpoints on the road to VALORANT Champions Shanghai.
Which teams qualified for Masters London?
Twelve teams made it, three from each of the four VCT regions: EMEA, Americas, China, and Pacific. They booked their spots through Stage 1 of their respective international leagues.
The full team list:
- EMEA: Team Heretics, Team Vitality, FUT Esports
- Americas: NRG, Leviatán, G2 Esports
- China: EDward Gaming, Xi Lai Gaming, Dragon Ranger Gaming
- Pacific: Paper Rex, Global Esports, FULL SENSE
A couple of names jump out. Global Esports are the first Indian organisation in VCT history to reach a Masters event, breaking through after three years in VCT Pacific without an international LAN. FULL SENSE, the Thai roster that took the Pacific partner slot, are at a Masters in their first Tier 1 season, with their only prior international appearance dating back to Champions 2021.
One interesting wrinkle: only five teams from this field also played Masters Santiago (G2, NRG, Xi Lai Gaming, EDward Gaming, and Paper Rex). Santiago champions Nongshim RedForce did not even qualify. That kind of turnover says a lot about how unstable the 2026 meta has been.
How does the Masters London format work?
The format mirrors Masters Santiago, split into two stages.
The four regional winners (the top seeds) skip straight to the Playoffs. The remaining eight teams start in a Swiss Stage from June 6 to 10. In Swiss, teams play until they hit either two wins or two losses. Go 2-0 or 2-1 and you advance. Go 0-2 or 1-2 and you are done. The top four from the Swiss Stage join the four seeded teams in the bracket.
Playoffs run from June 13 to 21 as an eight-team double-elimination bracket. Every series is best-of-three, except the lower bracket final and the grand final, which are best-of-five. The whole thing wraps with the grand final on June 21.
Masters London 2026 prize pool
There is $1,000,000 on the table. The champions walk away with $350,000, and the runner-up banks $200,000. The rest of the purse is split among the other ten teams based on where they finish.
Money is not the only prize, though. Masters London also hands out VCT Championship Points, which feed directly into qualification and seeding for VALORANT Champions later in the season. The top six teams earn points, so even sides that fall short of the trophy have a real reason to grind out every placement. For teams sitting near the Champions cutoff, a deep London run could be the difference between Shanghai and an early summer at home.
How to watch Masters London 2026
Every match streams live on Riot’s official VALORANT Esports channels on Twitch and YouTube. The broadcast covers everything from the opening Swiss matches through to the grand final, and full VODs land on YouTube afterward if you miss a session.
There are also free in-game rewards on offer through Watch and Earn Drops, Pick’Ems, and the live Shotcall prediction game, so tuning in pays off even if your bracket falls apart.
Who are the favourites?
Paper Rex, NRG, and G2 Esports come in as some of the most consistent names on the global circuit, and all three showed well at Santiago. The Chinese contingent is dangerous too, with Xi Lai Gaming having torn through their regional group stage and EDward Gaming arriving with pedigree as former world champions.
That said, the meta volatility this year makes London genuinely hard to call. Half the Santiago field did not even make it back. If form holds, the usual suspects contend, but this is exactly the kind of event where a rookie roster catches fire and rewrites the bracket.
What to watch next
The Swiss Stage opens June 6 and immediately starts trimming the field, so the early matches carry weight from day one. For Indian fans, Global Esports’ debut on a Masters stage is the storyline to follow, win or lose. For everyone else, it is the first read on which rosters are actually built for Champions and which ones peaked in qualifying.
For the full bracket, rosters, and daily results as they come in, keep up with TalkEsport’s VALORANT coverage through the rest of the tournament.
