Ahead of the start of the VCT (VALORANT Champions Tour) 2024 season, Riot Games has unveiled some of the key details around the participating teams, Kickoff tournaments, new format, and more. For the unversed, VCT 2024 is marking the debut of VALORANT Champions Tour CN as the 4th international league, other Americas, EMEA, and Pacific. Moreover, the organizers have confirmed that fans will see 11 teams competing in each league to qualify for the Masters events – Madrid and Shanghai – and Champions.
Also Read: Valorant Codes: How To Redeem Free Rewards
Here’s everything from start dates for the Kickoff tournaments to new formats that Riot Games recently revealed:
VCT 2024: New VALORANT Champions Tour To Commence With Kickoff Tournaments In February
The 2024 season will begin with the Kickoff tournaments in February. The top two teams from each International League will ultimately qualify for VCT Masters: Madrid, which will happen in March. As mentioned earlier, each league will have 11 participating teams that will be seeded and split into three groups. Here’s a look at the start dates for VCT 2024 Kickoff tournaments:
- VCT Americas Kickoff – Starting from February 16
- VCT Pacific Kickoff – Starting from February 17
- VCT EMEA Kickoff – Starting from February 20
- VCT CN Kickoff – Starting from February 22
The following teams, including the promoted ones, will compete against one another in International leagues:
VCT Americas
- 100 Thieves
- Cloud9
- Evil Geniuses
- FURIA Esports
- KRÜ Esports
- Leviatán
- LOUD
- MIBR
- NRG
- Sentinels
- G2 Esports (Promoted via Ascension 2023)
VCT Pacific
- DetonatioN FocusMe
- DRX
- Gen.G
- Global Esports
- Paper Rex
- Rex Regum Qeon
- T1
- Talon Esports
- Team Secret
- ZETA Division
- Bleed Esports (Promoted via Ascension 2023)
VCT EMEA
- BBL Esports
- Fnatic
- FUT Esports
- GIANTX
- Karmine Corp
- KOI
- Natus Vincere
- Team Heretics
- Team Liquid
- Team Vitality
- Gentle Mates (Promoted via Ascension 2023)
VCT CN
- All Gamers
- Bilibili Gaming
- EDward Gaming
- FunPlus Phoenix
- JD Gaming
- Nova Esports
- TYLOO
- Titan Esports Club
- Trace Esports
- Wolves Esports
- Dragon Ranger Gaming (Promoted via Ascension 2023)
Here’s a look at the format for VALORANT Champions Tour Kickoff Tournaments, which will be divided into three stages:
Group Stage
- Eleven teams will be seeded and split into three groups.
- There will be four teams in two groups, while the third group will feature three squads.
- The top-performing team will be placed in the group with three squads (with a bye to the second round)
- The rest of the teams will be placed in the remaining spots in the pool based on their past performances.
- There will be best-of-three matches during the Group Stage. Furthermore, each group will feature a double-elimination bracket.
- The three winning teams in the second round of the group stage will qualify for the Playoff Stage.
- The losing teams will move onto the Play-In stage.
Play-In Stage
- Play-In Stage will feature round-robin contests between the three second-place teams. The winning team will get a spot in the Playoff Stage.
Playoff Stage
- Three first-place teams from Group Stage, alongside the winner from the Play-Ins, will compete in a single elimination bracket.
The finalists from the Playoff Stage will qualify for VCT 2024 Masters: Madrid, with the winner getting preferential seeding. Readers must also note that Riot Games will put the Play-In stage winner against the team from their original group. After Masters Madrid, teams will go through Stage 1 of the International Leagues, while IL Stage 2 will happen after Masters Shanghai.
