VCT 2027 Open Qualifiers: Everything Riot Has Confirmed So Far

Riot Games has published the first detailed timeline for the VCT 2027 Open Qualifiers, the path amateur and creator-led teams will use to reach Kickoff, Masters, Champions, and the newly introduced VCT Cups. The qualifiers begin in November 2026.

The announcement does not introduce a new system. It fills in the dates, regional breakdowns, and roster rules left open when Riot first described the changes to VCT's format back in June.

When Everything Happens

Free Agency opens first, on November 2, 2026, allowing players whose contracts have ended to sign with new teams. Riot has not attached a closing date to this window.

Open Qualifiers start later in November, with exact dates left to each region. North America, EMEA, Pacific, and China will not necessarily share the same schedule, so teams and viewers need to track regional channels directly once dates are announced.

VCT 2027 Kickoff follows in January 2027, the first point in the season where Open Qualifier teams face partner organizations directly. The first Masters event of the year comes in February.

Riot has organized Open Qualifiers around four regional groups.

VCT Americas runs four distinct qualifying paths:

• North America
• Latin America North
• Latin America South
• Brazil

VCT EMEA keeps its usual split between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa:

• Europe
• Turkiye
• MENA

VCT Pacific has the widest spread, with eight qualifying paths in total:

• South Korea
• Japan
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Vietnam
• Southeast Asia (Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and the rest of SEA)
• South Asia
• Oceania

VCT China remains a single qualifier:

• China

Some regions will run more than one Open Qualifier across the season, giving teams a second chance to reach Kickoff if they miss the first one.

In Americas, EMEA, and Pacific, four teams from the Open Qualifiers will join eight partner organizations at each regional Kickoff. China is the exception, and Riot has not detailed how qualification works there. This matches what Riot said in June, when it first laid out plans to open VCT to teams outside the partner system. What's new now is the exact number of qualifying slots and how they interact with the existing partner slots.

Prize money for Open teams stays tied to results rather than a fixed payout. Teams that reach Kickoff, Masters, or Champions become eligible for cash prizes, along with what Riot describes only as "potential support" for qualifying organizations. The company has not detailed what that support covers.

In most regions, at least three of a team's five players must come from that team's home region, leaving two roster spots for players signed from elsewhere.

Roster continuity is treated separately. A team that keeps three of five players from one stage of the season to the next retains its competitive standing, whether that's a spot won through an Open Qualifier or progress made at Kickoff. Teams that fall below that threshold risk losing that standing and may need to requalify.

Riot has said further details, including exact qualifier dates by region, will follow closer to November. As a reminder, Leo Faria, head of the Valorant esports division, recently stated that there will be no distinction between Tier 2 and Tier 1 in the future.