The biggest Valorant event of the year is heading to Shanghai for the first time in history. The upcoming Valorant Champions 2026 is all set to close out the year-long VCT season and crown a new world champion, bringing down the curtain on the franchised era before the format shifts to an open qualifier system in 2027.
Whether you’re here to know more about the qualified teams in Champions 2026, the event Pick’Ems, schedule, or where to watch it live, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about Valorant Champions 2026.
Valorant Champions 2026: Dates, Venue, and Format
Valorant Champions 2026 is scheduled to run from September 24 to October 18, 2026, in Shanghai, China. As mentioned earlier, this marks the first time that China gets to host the world championship, and Riot is splitting the venue duties across two arenas:
- Jing’an Sports Center ( Group Stage and the early rounds of Playoffs)
- Mercedes-Benz Arena (Playoffs Top 4 and the Grand Final)
The biggest annual Valorant event will see 16 teams fight for a whopping $2,250,000 USD prize pool, with $1 million going to the winning team.
The tournament will follow the same GSL-style format used in recent years. Four groups of four teams each will play a double-elimination mini-bracket, and the top two from each group will then move on to the Playoff stage, which is also double-elimination.
Valorant Champions 2026: All Qualified Teams
Sixteen slots are split evenly across the four international leagues: Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China. Teams can earn their spot either by reaching the Stage 2 grand final of their region, or by racking up enough Championship Points across Kickoff, the two Masters events, and Stage 1 and 2 if they fall short of that grand final.
Here’s the full list of confirmed teams so far for Valorant Champions 2026:
China
- TYLOO
- JD Gaming
- EDward Gaming
- XLG Esports
EMEA
- Karmine Corp
- Team Liquid
- FUT Esports
- Team Vitality
Pacific
- Global Esports
- Nongshim RedForce
- Paper Rex
- T1
Americas
- 100Thieves
- NRG
- G2 Esports
By the time the Group Stage draw happens, the full 16-team field will be locked and seeded into pools based on how each team qualified, ensuring every group has one representative from each region.
Valorant Champions 2026 Schedule
Below, we have listed the schedule for Valorant Champions 2026:
| Stage | Dates |
| Regional Stage 2 Finals end (last Champions slot decided) | September 6, 2026 |
| Group Stage starts | September 24, 2026 |
| Playoffs | Continues through mid-October |
| Grand Final | October 18, 2026 |
Exact daily match times for the Group Stage and Playoffs will be published closer to the event once the draw is finalized.
Valorant Champions 2026: Where to Watch
Valorant fans will be able to catch all the action that unfolds during Valorant Champions 2026 live by tuning into the official Twitch and YouTube handles of the shooter.
Given that Champions is being held in China this year, players can expect a strong local-language broadcast push alongside the usual English-language main stream, since Chinese viewership made up the bulk of the audience the last time an international Valorant event was held in the country.
Valorant Champions 2026 Pick’Ems
Similar to previous major Valorant events, Pick’Ems are returning to the game for Champions 2026. For the uninitiated, Pick’Ems are a fan-prediction feature that lets players predict match outcomes for a shot at free in-game cosmetics.
Riot has confirmed that Pick’ems for Champions Shanghai will kick off on September 10, 2026.
Group Stage predictions will be available both in the client and on the web from that date, and you’ll want to lock in your picks before the Group Stage itself begins on September 24, since predictions close once the games start.
The rewards for the Valorant Champions 2026 Pick’Ems have also seemingly leaked online. Here’s what you’ll likely be able to grab based on the leaks we’ve seen so far:
| Requirement | Reward |
| Submit at least one Pick’em prediction | “Calculated” player title |
| Finish in the top 50% of participants | “Stone of Heaven” gun buddy |
| Finish in the top 20% of participants | “Pick’ems Master: Stone of Heaven” gun buddy (gold variant) |
| Get every single prediction correct | “100%” player title |
That’s everything you need to know about Valorant Champions 2026 before it commences later this month.
