Riot Games Unveils VCT 2027: Over 50 Tournaments in 15 Cities and No More Leagues

Riot Games has revealed its plans for the 2027 Valorant esports season. The company calls it the Global Tour, and it drops the league format entirely. Long regular-season stages are gone. In their place comes a series of tournaments that any team can qualify for, not just partners.

Since 2023, each VCT region has run a closed league where the same partner teams played each other across several stages per season. Riot now wants a more open circuit. The company says it has spent years working toward a model where a team can break through on the local scene, earn a place at bigger events and keep going as long as it wins. In 2027, the whole season runs on that model.

Riot plans more than 50 tournaments across 15 cities. Here is the calendar:

• Kickoff (January 14 – February 7): São Paulo, Berlin, Bangkok, Hangzhou;
• Masters Seoul (February 20 – March 3);
• Cup 1 (April 29 – May 23): Mexico City, Warsaw, Manila, Wuhan;
• Masters València (June 5–20);
• Cup 2 (August 5–29): Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Tokyo, Shanghai;
• Champions Austin (September 16 – October 10).

Each of the four regions hosts its own Kickoff and two Cups, so the season has 4 Kickoffs and 8 Cups. Open qualifiers run before and between these events and give new teams a route into the VCT.

Partner teams face the biggest change. They still get a direct spot at Kickoff, but results decide everything after that. Kickoff in the Americas, EMEA and Pacific will have 12 teams each: 8 partners and 4 open qualifiers. China uses a slightly different split, with 8 partners, 2 visitor teams and 2 open qualifiers. The top three teams from each Kickoff go to Masters. If a partner team struggles at a Cup or Masters, it drops into the Open Playoffs and has to fight for its spot like everyone else.

Riot will also pay teams that come through the open qualifiers. A team gets $100,000 for reaching Kickoff or a Cup, $200,000 for Masters and $400,000 for Champions. Prize pools across the season add up to more than $7 million.