Three Valorant Regions Are Running Playoffs at Once and Each One Sends Exactly Two Teams to Shanghai
EMEA crowns its qualifiers on 30 August, Americas on 5 September and Pacific on 6 September. Champions 2026 starts in Shanghai on 24 September with a 2.25 million dollar pool.
All three major Valorant regional leagues are in Stage 2 playoffs at the same time, and each of them sends exactly two teams to Champions. Valorant Champions 2026 runs in Shanghai from 24 September to 18 October with a $2.25 million prize pool.
The three brackets
| Region | Playoff window | Qualifiers decided |
|---|---|---|
| EMEA | 20 - 30 August | 30 August |
| Americas | 27 August - 5 September | 5 September |
| Pacific | 27 August - 6 September | 6 September |
EMEA is furthest along. FUT Esports beat Team Liquid 2-0 and then BBL Esports 2-1 to reach the upper final. Karmine Corp beat Enterprise Esports 2-1 to join them there. In the lower bracket, Team Liquid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 and then swept Enterprise 2-0, and Fire Flux beat Team Vitality 2-1 and then BBL 2-0.
The EMEA upper final and lower round three are both on 28 August, the lower final on 29 August and the grand final on 30 August.
The Champions field
Only four teams were confirmed for Champions at the last check, all from the Chinese region, qualified on Stage 2 points: TYLOO, JD Gaming, EDward Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming. The remaining slots are what these three brackets are for.
Prize distribution at Champions runs to $30,000 for ninth through twelfth and $20,000 for thirteenth through sixteenth. The Americas stage itself pays $100,000 to the winner and $65,000 to the runner-up.
Why the overlap matters
Three regions finishing within eight days of each other means the Champions bracket is effectively unknowable until the first week of September, and then fully set almost immediately. There is no long qualification tail this year.
Following it on Playdash
Playdash prices VCT with series winner, map handicap, correct series score, total maps, first blood and pistol round markets, plus outrights on each regional playoff and on Champions itself. EMEA finals run in the Southeast Asian late evening; Pacific matches run in local afternoon and evening hours.
Bracket results, schedules, prize figures and Champions details as published by vlr.gg, Dot Esports and valorantesports.com. Reported Pacific and Americas playoff qualifier lists could not be confirmed beyond headline references and are not listed here. These brackets are live and results will have moved on. Correct at the time of writing on 28 August 2026.