Riot Games Plans to Scrap Academy Rosters in VCT and Lower Minimum Age to 17

Riot Games is preparing another wave of changes to the Valorant Champions Tour 2027 format, and this time it's not just about the tournament structure but also the rules governing team rosters. This is reported by Sheep Esports, citing its own sources close to the situation.

According to the outlet, Riot is in talks with organizations about their participation in VCT 2027 and, it appears, has decided to remove the possibility for a club to hold two active rosters at the same time. This means teams may no longer be able to run their own academy rosters, through which they could independently develop new professional players.

Sheep Esports notes that indirect confirmation of this came from NRG Esports, which officially announced on August 29 the disbandment of its academy team, citing the upcoming changes to the VCT format.

At the same time, the outlet writes, an exception will be made for Game Changers teams: a club will be able to have both a main VCT roster and a separate GC team simultaneously. Theoretically, this even means that a club's main team and its women's team could face each other during Open Qualifiers.

Another detail revealed by Sheep Esports: in all previous seasons, the minimum age for Tier 1 competition was 18, and only adult players could compete in VCT. In 2027, according to the outlet's sources, the threshold is planned to be lowered to 17 for the three major regions - EMEA, Americas, and Pacific. However, in China the age limit will most likely remain at 18 due to local legislation.

Sheep Esports also reports on a number of related changes:

• Players will be assigned to one of 16 "home regions" within the four major zones — EMEA, Americas, Pacific, and China.
• The import rule will change: a minimum of 3 players from the home region and a maximum of 2 imports, but the classification will now be tied specifically to the region rather than the continent.
• Already-signed partner rosters that don't meet the new quotas will get a transitional exemption ("grandfathering"), confirmed by Global Head of VALORANT Esports Leo Faria.
• The minimum salary for the eight partner teams in each region will remain at around $50,000, and a salary cap outside China is not planned.

Riot Games has not officially confirmed these details, and all the information is based on data obtained by Sheep Esports from its own sources. It's also worth recalling that Riot Games recently confirmed new details about the open qualifiers in VCT 2027.