Like the other
VALORANT Champions Tour International Leagues,
VCT Pacific will also welcome four Tier 2 teams from across Asia during the Stage 2 Play-In, all competing for one of the qualifying spots at
VALORANT Champions Shanghai. Introduced for the 2026 season, this new format partially opens the VCT ecosystem to the Challengers leagues, giving Tier 2 teams meaningful goals beyond Ascension.
Two countries, one slots
As previously explained, four additional teams will travel to Seoul to compete in the VCT Pacific Stage 2, each having qualified through its respective regional Challengers league. The final team to secure its spot, on Sunday, July 26, was QT DIG∞, representing Japan after defeating FENNEL in the semifinals and REJECT in a tightly contested 3-2 grand final. The qualification was decided on LAN during the
VCJ Finals this weekend, capping off the full Japanese Challengers season, where the organization finished Top 4 in Split 1 and Top 2 in Split 2.
In South Korea, ONSIDE Gaming, already winners of Split 1, claimed the Split 2 title after defeating ARETE in the grand final. As a reminder, the league's academy teams - T1, Gen.G Esports, and DRX - were not eligible to compete in the playoffs, despite finishing third, second, and fifth respectively in the regular season, as academy rosters cannot qualify for the VCT Pacific Play-In. Starting the playoffs in the upper bracket, ONSIDE opened with a quarterfinal victory before dropping to the lower bracket following a 2-1 loss to ARETE. The team then defeated Dplus 3-1 to earn a rematch against ARETE in the grand final, where it convincingly claimed the title with a 3-0 sweep.
Two more slots for a whole region
Rather than representing a single country, the VCL Southeast Asia features teams from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Mongolia, and several other nations, making it one of the region's most competitive Challengers leagues. After advancing through their domestic qualifiers, the qualified teams met in the VCL SEA Split 2. Sharper Esports finished second in its group behind Mongolia's Trinity before putting together a flawless playoff run with three consecutive 2-0 victories. The team then defeated 555 in a hard-fought 3-2 grand final to secure its place in the VCT Pacific Play-In.
Ironically, it was 555, the
VCL SEA runners-up, that claimed the final Play-In spot through the
Last Chance Qualifier. The event featured Fancy United from VCL SEA, No Salary Peek, the top team from VCL South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives), and Yi-Jing, Oceania's top representative. Their playoff run was anything but straightforward. After edging out No Salary Peek 2-1, 555 dropped to the lower bracket following a 2-0 loss to Fancy United. With no room for error, the team bounced back by defeating Yi-Jing 3-1 before earning revenge against Fancy United with a dominant 3-0 victory in the grand final. The roster has since been signed by Xipto Esports, as recently reported by Sheep Esports.
A new format for 2026
Alongside the traditional Group Stage, Riot Games has introduced a new Play-In phase for Stage 2 across its international leagues. Designed to bridge the gap between Tier 2 and Tier 1, the format gives emerging teams a chance to challenge the region's top-level competition.
Played in a double-elimination Best-of-three format, the Play-In features the four teams that qualified through their respective regional leagues facing off against the four lowest-ranked VCT Pacific teams from Stage 2 Group Stage. Four spots in the Stage 2 Playoffs are on the line.
The two best-performing teams, regardless of whether they come from VCT Pacific or Tier 2, will secure a place in the upper bracket of the Stage 2 Playoffs. The remaining two qualified teams will begin their playoff run in the lower bracket. Should a Tier 2 team make it that far, its road to VALORANT Champions remains demanding, as only a Stage 2 Grand Final appearance guarantees direct qualification. Anything less, despite a deep playoff run, will ultimately not be enough.
