VALORANT Champions 2026 will bring together 16 leading teams in Shanghai, where they will compete for the world championship title and a share of the $2.25 million prize pool.
As Cybersport In reports, citing Esports Charts, the tournament will take place from September 24 to October 18 at two venues in Shanghai: the Jing’an Sports Center and the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
The group stage and most of the playoffs will be held at the Jing’an Sports Center, while the Mercedes-Benz Arena will host the final weekend. The tournament will become the main event of the 2026 VALORANT esports season.
Sixteen teams representing the Americas, China, EMEA and the Pacific region will participate in the championship. The list includes Team Liquid, Paper Rex, TYLOO, G2 Esports, Nongshim RedForce, NRG, Karmine Corp, XLG Esports, Global Esports, Team Vitality, LOUD, EDward Gaming, 100 Thieves, T1, JD Gaming and FUT Esports.
The group stage will run from September 24 to October 4. The teams will be divided into four groups, with one representative from each competitive region. Matches will follow a double-elimination format and will be played as best-of-three series. Two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.
The playoffs are scheduled for October 7–18 and will also use a double-elimination bracket. Most matches will be played as best-of-three series, while the lower-bracket final and grand final will use a best-of-five format.
The opening matches will feature Team Liquid against Paper Rex, TYLOO against G2 Esports, Nongshim RedForce against NRG and Karmine Corp against XLG Esports. Other first-round pairings include Global Esports versus Team Vitality, LOUD versus EDward Gaming, 100 Thieves versus T1 and JD Gaming versus FUT Esports.
Official broadcasts will be available on YouTube, Twitch and TikTok. Riot Games will provide coverage in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, French, Turkish, Chinese and Ukrainian.
Community casting will once again play an important role in the championship’s coverage. FNS, TcK 10, mixwell, tarik and lazvell are among the content creators expected to broadcast the matches for their audiences.
Viewers will also be able to earn exclusive in-game Drops by watching live broadcasts. The rewards will include a special player title linked to VALORANT Champions Shanghai.
The $2.25 million tournament prize pool makes Champions Shanghai one of the largest VALORANT competitions of the season. The event will also provide the final major benchmark for the game’s esports audience in 2026.
