Riot Games has unveiled the full schedule for the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour, the official competitive circuit for its FPS. The circuit will kick off on 15 and 22 January with the start of the regional Kickoffs, staggered across the four international leagues: EMEA, Americas, Pacific, and China. The season will conclude in Shanghai, with VALORANT Champions 2026 running from 24 September to 18 October.

The already announced Masters Santiago and Masters London events now have precise dates, confirming the first two international LAN stops of the year. The first major event in Chile, and the second in South America since the LOCK//IN São Paulo at the start of 2023, will take place from 28 February to 15 March. London, the capital of the United Kingdom, will then host the next international tournament from 6 to 21 June, another 15‑day event. Unlike previous seasons, both Masters events will feature twelve teams, replacing the eight‑team field that was used for the first Masters stops in earlier years.

Full 2026 VCT season schedule:

A new format for Kickoff

In addition to the calendar, Riot Games has also confirmed a revamped format for the Kickoffs held across the four major VALORANT regions. Originally designed as a straightforward double‑elimination tournament, the developer is adding an extra layer of complexity with a triple‑elimination structure. Teams that lose in the upper bracket will drop into a middle bracket, and will then fall to the lower bracket if they lose again.

Only a perfect run through the upper bracket will be enough to win this opening stage, as victories do not allow teams to climb back up once they drop; instead, each bracket will produce its own final. The two finalists from the upper bracket and the winner of the middle bracket will claim the available slots for Masters Santiago.