The stage is set and the teams are locked in as VALORANT's long-awaited 2024 competitive season has its official start date! Global Director of VALORANT esports at Riot Games, Leo Faria, has revealed the initial tournaments for each region, titled VALORANT CHAMPIONS TOUR KICKOFF, are all scheduled to begin in mid-February.

The tournament format will be slightly different for the 2024 season, adopting a Swiss Stage format: teams with identical results will face each other until reaching the Playoffs, which include the upper and lower brackets. In other words, defeated teams will have a second opportunity to continue in the competition and survive to see another match. This change will be a godsend for fan-favorite teams like Sentinels, who struggled in the 2023 VCT season.

These VCT events will guarantee each region a pre-defined number of places for the Madrid Masters. The event will feature the participation of eight teams, with places awarded to the top two teams of each VCT KICKOFF of the four distinct regions: Americas, China, EMEA, and Pacific. 

Valorant Champions Tour KICKOFF: Format

All VCT KICKOFFs will begin internationally in February, with the same format going forward, starting with the Group Stage. All eleven competing teams will be seeded and split into three groups: two groups will have four teams, while one will have three. The region's top team, aka the highest-placing team at VCT Champions 2023, will be placed in the group of three and automatically qualify for the second round.

The remaining ten teams will be sorted into pools based on their 2023 performance. Each group will feature a double-elimination bracket with Best-of-3 matches. The winning team of each group will move onto the Playoff Stage, while second-placed teams will head to the Play-In Stage.

For the Play-In Stage, the three second-place teams will face off in a round-robin format, with just one team earning a slot in the Playoffs. The Playoffs will feature Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Grand Finals as four teams compete for the win. The top two teams earn their slots in Madrid Masters, and the overall winner also earns three Championship Points towards their VALORANT Champions qualification.

VCT Schedule for 2024

Valorant Champions Tour: League Start Dates

The start dates for each league will be as follows, in chronological order. We've also included the start dates for international events Masters Madrid and Shanghai.

  • VCT Americas: February 16 - March 2
  • VCT Pacific: February 17 - March 2
  • VCT EMEA: February 20 - March 2
  • VCT China: February 22 - March 2
  • VCT: Masters Madrid: March 8 - 24
  • VCT: Masters Shanghai: May ? - ?

Each league now features eleven teams, ten from well-known and established franchises and one from VCT Ascension 2023. The inaugural event, "VCT KICKOFF," will last two weeks, before Masters Madrid begins on March 8.

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The competitive VALORANT year ends with VALORANT Champions, the VCT World Championship featuring sixteen teams. VCT Challengers will occur all year alongside the S-Tier VCT matches.

Valorant Champions Tour: Championship Points

Riot has not yet released details about the ranking criteria for Valorant Champions. We currently know that from January 2024 onwards, the competitive VCT system will adopt a championship points system, which will be won in each championship, aiming to reward teams' consistency throughout the year.

The 2024 season will launch an innovative structure with the introduction of Championship Points. Developed to enhance evolution throughout the season, these points will become the common link for all international leagues and global tournaments, aiming to be a recognizable indicator of each team's performance.

Valorant Champions Tour 2024: Competing Teams

Americas

The VCT KICKOFF Americas will begin first on February 16, hosted at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles. As always, competition in the Americas is fierce, with some top-tier talent on display. Evil Geniuses look to defend their VALORANT Champions title and crown in the 2024 season.

Here is every VCT Americas team competing this year, including their confirmed player roster so far.

  • 100 Thieves: Asuna, bang, Cryocells, eeiu, Boostio
  • Cloud9: jakee, Xeppaa, OXY, vanity, wippee
  • Evil Geniuses: jawgemo
  • FURIA Esports: Khalil, mwzera, kon4n, liazzi, havoc
  • G2 Esports: JonahP, neT, trent, valyn, leaf
  • KRÜ Esports: Melser, shyy, mta, keznit, Klaus
  • Leviatán: kiNgg, Mazino, aspas, tex, c0m
  • LOUD: Less, Saadhak, cauanzin, tuyz, qck
  • MIBR: Jzz, frz, RgLM, Mazin, Artzin
  • NRG: crashies, Victor, Demon1, Ethan, Marved
  • Sentinels: zekken, Sacy, TenZ, johnqt, pANcada

Pacific

VCT Pacific hosts some strong teams in their region, with VCT Pacific KICKOFF happening on February 17 at the Sangham Colosseum in Seoul, South Korea. Here are all the teams you can expect to see, including their confirmed player rosters.

  • Bleed Esports: Deryeon, crazyguy, sScary, Egoist, yay
  • DetonatioN FocusMe: Suggest, neth, Meiy, popgachi, JoXJo
  • DRX: stax, BuZz, MaKo, Foxy9, Flashback
  • Gen.G: Meteor, t3xture, Lakia, Munchkin, Karon
  • Global Esports: Lightningfast, Russ, blaZek1ng, Polvi, Benkai
  • Paper Rex: mindfreak, f0rsakeN, d4v4i, something, Monyet
  • Rex Regum Qeon: xffero, fl1pzjder, Lmemore, Estrella, Jemkin
  • T1: Sayaplayer, Carpe, xccurate, iZu, Rossy
  • Talon Esports: Crws, JitboyS, ban, Governor, lenne
  • Team Secret: BORKUM, JessieVash, Jremy, invy, NDG
  • ZETA Division: Laz, Dep, SugarZ3ro, hiroronn, Yuran
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EMEA

VCT EMEA KICKOFF will be on February 20 as the third international league to start. All VCT EMEA matches will take place at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, which also plays host to the LEC Winter Split. 

  • BBL Esports: QutionerX, Brave, Elite, pAura, reazy
  • Fnatic: Boaster, Derke, Alfajer, Leo, Chronicle
  • FUT Esports: qRaxs, MrFaliN, ATA KAPTAN, yetujey, cNed
  • GIANTX: Fit1nho, Cloud, hoody, nukkye, Redgar
  • Gentle Mates: TakaS, nataNk, logaN, beyAz, Wailers
  • Karmine Corp: Shin, Magnum, marteen, N4RRATE, tomaszy
  • KOI: bolamenta, Sheydos, trexx, starxo
  • Natus Vincere: ANGE1, SUYGETSU, Shao, Zyppan, ardiis
  • Team Heretics: Boo, benjyfih, MiniBoo, RieNs, paTiTek
  • Team Liquid: Jamppi, nAts, Enzo, Keiko, Mistic
  • Team Vitality: ceNder, runneR, Kicks, Sayf

China

Saving the best until last is the inaugural VCT China KICKOFF event, beginning on February 22 as the last of the four international leagues to start.

  • All Gamers: Bunt, deLb, Monk, Spitfires, sword9
  • Bilibili Gaming: whzy, Biank, Knight, yosemite, B3Ar
  • Dragon Ranger Gaming: TvirusLuke, Nicc, vo0kashu, Dingwei, TZH
  • EDward Gaming: Haodong, CHICHOO, nobody, ZmjjKK, Smoggy
  • FunPlus Phoenix: AAAAY, BerLIN, Lysoar, Autumn, Life
  • JD Gaming: YiHao, Viva, MarT1n, stew, jkuro
  • Nova Esports: o0o0o, OBONE, PangH, cb, GuanG
  • Titan Esports Club: B1ack, qiuye, Shameless, Abo, Sztwo
  • Trace Esports: FengF, Flex1n, HeiB, YoU, Kai
  • TYLOO: LuoK1ng, Ninebody, AAK, ICE, hfmi0dzjc9z7
  • Wolves Esports: aluba, COLDFISH, pl1xx, Spring, Yuicaw

Now that you know the start dates for each VALORANT regional championship, remember that Rivalry has the best betting odds for most official VALORANT tournaments. If you liked this article and want to read more content about VALORANT, hit up our blog page! We've got everything from agent tier lists and how to uninstall VALORANT to everything you need to know about VALORANT Mobile.

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