Sources: VALORANT VCT Pacific 2027-2028 partnership teams revealed

According to sources close to Sheep Esports and official announcements from the organizations, the 8 clubs that have been selected as partner teams for VCT Pacific 2027-2028 cycle include:

6 out of the 10 partner teams from the previous cycle of franchising have retained their status as partner teams in VCT Pacific. Heading into 2027, the number of partner teams in each region has been reduced to 8. The VCT circuit is also expected to undergo a series of changes in terms of competitive structure. In-depth details on this can be found in Sheep Esports’ dedicated coverage of the announcement made by Riot Games earlier this year.

Existing partner teams such as Paper Rex, Gen.G, ZETA DIVISION, and Rex Regum Qeon have officially announced that they will continue to be partner teams. FULL SENSE and T1 are expected to remain as partner teams, sources close to Sheep Esports say.

The new faces that have officially announced their status as partner teams include Crazy Raccoon and GAM Esports. Crazy Raccoon is no stranger to VALORANT esports, having been present since the inception of the scene in 2020. The Japanese organization notably qualified for all three international events in 2021 and gave hope for the Japanese region to hang with the very best.

GAM Esports, on the other hand, is a brand-new organization in VALORANT. However, fans who follow Riot Games’ other major esports title, League of Legends, will be quite familiar with the legendary Vietnamese club. They are arguably the most popular esports team in Vietnam. In recent years, there has been an increase in the Vietnamese viewership base. Bringing in GAM Esports is a great way to solidify a strong fanbase for Riot’s endeavors in APAC.

Global Esports, DetonatioN FocusMe, and KIWOOM DRX have announced that they will no longer be partner teams. Global Esports have already pivoted away from esports as a whole but DetonatioN FocusMe and KIWOOM DRX will continue to compete in VALORANT through the open circuit in 2027. Team Secret are the last partner team to lose its status heading into the 2027-2028 cycle, according to sources close to Sheep Esports.

Apart from the partner teams, Nongshim RedForce and VARREL, organizations that qualified for VCT Pacific through Ascension, have also not been selected by Riot Games. Nongshim will continue to play in 2027 while VARREL have yet to provide an update.

Other APAC organizations such as RIDDLE, S8UL Esports, and BOOM Esports are also not part of the 2027-2028 partner team cycle. RIDDLE and S8UL Esports will completely exit VALORANT while BOOM Esports will share updates in the future regarding their status in VALORANT esports.