VCT EMEA Kickoff breaks down format and opening matches

VALORANT has revealed the format, schedule and ticket sale details for its VCT EMEA 2026 Kickoff event.

From January 20th until February 12th, 12 teams will be competing for Championship points as well as the opportunity to represent EMEA at VCT Masters Santiago in February.

VCT EMEA is part of Riot Games’ semi-franchised VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), which includes tier-one teams across four regions (Americas, Pacific, EMEA and China).

Every VCT season features three regional competitions, Kickoff, Stage 1 and Stage 2, plus three global events, two Masters and the annual VALORANT Champions tournament.

As announced in October, all VCT Kickoff events in 2026 will follow a new triple-elimination format to provide ample competitive opportunities for every team.

Instead of the common double-elimination bracket, where teams have two chances — one in the upper bracket and one in the lower bracket — triple-elimination gives participants three chances to emerge victorious from the tournament.

Undefeated teams remain in the upper bracket. However, one loss leads to descent to the middle bracket, two losses lead to the lower bracket, and a third loss means elimination from Kickoff.

In addition, this format culminates in three Finals. Every match will be a best-of-three (BO3) series except for the best-of-five (BO5) Finals. The three winners will then qualify for the first international tournament of 2026, Masters Santiago.

Championship points, which may grant qualification for VALORANT Champions later on, will be distributed as follows:

VCT EMEA 2026 Kickoff will run across four weeks, with Week 1 featuring four Upper Bracket Round 1 and four Upper Bracket Round 2 matches.

The Round 1 opening matches have been drawn accordingly:

EMEA’s four representatives at Champions 2025, Fnatic, Team Liquid, GIANTX and Team Heretics, will be given a direct bye into Round 2 of the upper bracket.

The competition will continue with Week 2’s Middle Bracket battles and Upper Bracket Semifinals, followed by the Lower Bracket survival rounds during Week 3.

While Weeks 1-3 will run from Tuesday to Friday, Week 4 will only see matches from Thursday to Sunday. Thursday and Sunday will kick off at 5 PM BST, but Friday and Saturday will begin at 1 PM BST.

The final week of VCT Kickoff will be dedicated to the Upper Finals, Middle Finals and Lower Finals. However, before each bracket’s finals can begin, all remaining rounds in the middle and lower brackets must be settled.

Therefore, BO3 matches will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday prior to each final.

Ticket sales for the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, Germany, are going live today at 5 PM BST. For those who cannot attend VCT EMEA Kickoff in person, all games will be broadcast via the VALORANT EMEA Twitch channel.

Among the 12 teams participating in VCT EMEA 2026 Kickoff, ten are Partner Teams. ULF Esports and PCIFIC Esports have earned a year-long spots in the league thanks to victories at VCT EMEA Ascension earlier this year.

Gentle Mates used to also be an Ascension team and was relegated to tier two after its 2025 VCT performance. Though following the removal of KOI from the circuit, the French organisation was chosen by Riot as its 2026 replacement.

Here are all twelve VCT EMEA 2026 Kickoff teams: