Riot Games reveals VCT 2027 event dates and locations

Riot Games has announced the schedules and locations for all 2027 VCT tournaments, planned across 15 cities globally. The upcoming season will feature over 50 tournaments in total, including Open Qualifiers, Kickoff, Cups, Masters, and Champions.

Moreover, over $7 million will be awarded in prize money alone. For the first time ever, VALORANT Game Changers Championship will also conclude at Champions, bringing the circuit its biggest audience yet. Last but not least, the Classic will be replaced by the Ghost in the new esports bundle.

Unlike previous VCT editions, regional tournaments will not take place in a single city or even a single country, giving teams opportunities to play in front of fans from multiple cultures. In addition to this, Riot Games will be returning to Seoul for another global event, while Champions will head to Austin for the first time ever. Here are the schedules and locations for all VCT 2027 tournaments:

Starting next year, the six partner teams across EMEA, Americas, and Pacific will get direct entry to their respective regional Kickoff tournaments only. They will have to battle against teams advancing from the Open Qualifiers, which begin in November 2026, for spots in the remaining events of the season. Chinese partner and visitor organizations, however, will receive invitations to Kickoff and Cups.

“We have no idea what’s gonna happen. Think about it: the players you have watched for years against players you’ve never heard of. And the first chapter of that showdown? The Open's, where local heroes are crowned. So there will be a North American champion and a European champion and a Korean champion, and so on and so forth. And the best of them move on to Cups and to Masters and to Champions. So the whole point is that anyone can win,” said Anna Donlon, Head of VALORANT Studios, and Leo Faria, Global Head of VALORANT Esports.

As previously reported by Sheep Esports, all teams coming from Open Qualifiers to Kickoff or a Cup will receive $100,000 for every event, while those making it to a Masters event will get $200,000. Not only that, but if an open team qualifies all the way to Champions, it will receive $400,000 in support money.

“If an open team puts together a strong enough season, they can make over a million dollars,” Donlan and Faria stated.

Lastly, every team that competes at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship will get $100,000.