Sixteen Teams Were Drawn Into Four Groups for Valorant Champions in Shanghai With One Million Dollars for the Winner
Paper Rex were drawn against Team Liquid and the defending champions NRG face Nongshim RedForce when the tournament begins on the twenty fourth of September.
The group draw for Valorant Champions 2026 was completed on 7 September 2026, setting a sixteen-team field for the tournament in Shanghai from 24 September to 18 October.
Group A holds 100 Thieves, T1, JD Gaming and FUT Esports, opening with 100 Thieves against T1 and JD Gaming against FUT Esports. Group B holds Global Esports, Team Vitality, LOUD and EDward Gaming. Group C holds TYLOO, G2 Esports, Team Liquid and Paper Rex, opening with TYLOO against G2 Esports and Team Liquid against Paper Rex. Group D holds Karmine Corp, Xi Lai Gaming, Nongshim RedForce and the defending champions NRG. No two teams from the same region could be drawn together.
The prize pool is 2,250,000 US dollars, with one million to the winner, 400,000 for second, 250,000 for third and 130,000 for fourth. Teams finishing thirteenth to sixteenth receive 20,000 each.
Each group is a double-elimination bracket of best-of-three series, with the top two advancing to an eight-team double-elimination playoff. The lower bracket final and the grand final are best-of-five. The group stage and early playoffs are at the Jing'an Sports Center, which holds about 5,600, with the finals weekend at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Pudong, which holds about 18,000.