VCT 2027: The biggest change to Valorant esports in four years

Fariha Bhatti Published 09/04/2026

Riot Games is overhauling the Valorant Champions Tour for 2027, scrapping traditional league play in favor of a tournament-based system where any team can compete for a spot on the main VCT stage. Here’s all you need to know about the VCT 2027 ecosystem.

Announced in 2020 and launched in 2021, the Valorant Champions Tour has gone through several significant changes over the years, none bigger than the franchise model introduced in 2023. That update locked most competitive spots behind Riot partnerships and cut off a clear path for newer teams to break into the top tier competition. Now, Riot is returning to its roots, at least partially, by opening up the VCT circuit to all.

Taking to X, Riot has announced that the VCT circuit will adopt a tournament-driven structure, starting 2027. While aspiring pro players and the best Valorant teams will benefit from the change, Riot has found a way to keep partnerships beneficial as well.

What are VCT Cups in Valorant?

VCT Cups are newly announced regional tournaments that would offer a direct route to the main VCT stage. Open to any team through open qualifiers, they will be held across the four key VCT regions.

Since Valorant’s release, Riot has offered several ways for aspiring players to compete at the highest level, with the most notable one being Ascension. However, that route took an entire year for teams to get a shot at playing against the best opponents in the world.

We recently revealed the best Valorant players, and Riot has announced that Ascension will no longer be required for teams to get a chance to reach Masters and Champions stage. That system will be replaced by VCT Cups that will serve as the direct route to Masters and Champions.

Valorant VCT Cups 2027

VCT Cups will be held in the four regions: Americas, China, EMEA, and Pacific, and all events will take place on LAN. The Cups are part of a broader season structure that includes Kickoff, Masters 1, Masters 2, and Champions, totaling over 20 tournaments across the world.

So far, the reaction to the changes has been positive, with fans calling it the perfect combination of what VCT used to be and the franchising system. This is largely because Riot hasn’t abandoned franchising entirely. Instead, a new two-year partnership cycle will begin in 2027, with teams evaluated on five criteria.

Commitment to growing the Valorant community
Community resonance
Business sustainability
Operational excellence
Competitive performance

Successful partners will receive a guaranteed base payment each year, a performance bonus, revenue share through in-game Team Capsules, and direct seeding into later rounds of qualifiers. That means, they skip the early open qualifier stages that non-partner teams must grind through.

This would be the first time since 2023 that Riot has opened up the VCT structure, giving players all the more reasons to grind Valorant. With extra hurdles removed from the way, fans are expecting to see better storylines and competition at the top of the VCT chain. For extra reading, you can explore our guide to Valorant ranks.

Featured image credit: Riot Games

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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