VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 is officially reaching its hottest stage, as the 8 remaining teams will fight for the year's most prestigious title in a double-elimination bracket.
After an intense, tech-issue-riddled Group Stage, the tournament's final phase began on October 7 and will run until the Grand Final on October 18.
As the 2026 competitive year comes to an end, the tournament will decide the best VALORANT team in the world. Every match in the Playoff stage will be played in a Bo3 format, except the Lower Bracket and Grand Final, which will follow a Bo5 format. You can follow the bracket’s progression throughout the article.
VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 Playoffs Bracket. Credit: Liquipedia
All the teams qualified for the Playoff Stage
Two are the teams from each group that qualified for the final stage of the tournament.
100 Thieves had a clean run in Group A, getting out without losing a single map, while T1 struggled against both Xi Lai Gaming and FUT Esports; despite the messy victories, they still managed to secure a spot.
Team Vitality overcame LOUD and Global Esports to make it out of Group B, adding another notable result to a year marked by its fair share of ups and downs. LOUD, on the other hand, despite losing to EMEA’s Fourth Seed,
delivered strong performances against Pacific’s first seed and Edward Gaming and look like possible title contenders.
G2 Esports,
despite Jacob "valyn" Batio and
Andrej "babybay" Francisty being set to leave the organization, as previously reported by
Sheep Esports, finally delivered a strong international showing to make it through Group C, taking down Team Liquid and TYLOO. Paper Rex looked dominant, but not oppressive, as they dropped a map against both G2 and TL.
When it comes to Champions, NRG are just built different. The reigning World Champions
took down Karmine Corp and Nongshim Redforce to qualify for the playoffs stage. Nongshim, despite not having the best possible run in terms of performance, still managed to get through Group D after beating KC in the final Bo3.
