VALORANT Champions Tour 2025
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VALORANT Champions Tour 2025
Series Information
Organizer:
Sponsor(s):
Location:
GlobalLinks
Chronology
VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 is the fifth official tournament circuit by Riot Games. The circuit was announced on August 20th, 2024 with a YouTube video. More details on Championship Points and international tournament formats were shared on November 26th, 2024. [1][2]
Format
[edit]Pro system
[edit]- Four international leagues, each in a different region, with 12 teams each.
- 10 partner teams and 2 teams from Ascension (one from 2023 and one from 2024).
- Leagues, the regions they cover and their bases are as follows:
Americas League
- Covers North and South America.
- Based at the
Riot Games Arena, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States.
China League
- Covers Mainland China.
- Based at the
VCT CN Arena, Huangpu, Shanghai, China.
EMEA League
- Covers Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
- Based at the
Riot Games Arena, Adlershof, Berlin, Germany.
Pacific League
- Covers Asia and Oceania outside of Mainland China and West Asia.
- Based at
Sangam Colosseum, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
- Transition from COEX Artium in Seoul.
- Transition from
- Championship Points return but with changes. Here are how the 2024 and 2025 Championship Points (and Champions automatic berths) look compared against each other:
| Tournament | Points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Applicable Tournament |
1st | 2nd | 3rd | Match Victory | Group Victory | Bye Round |
| 1 |   Kickoff
|
3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 |  Masters 1
|
3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Stage 1
|
2 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Masters 2
|
3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | Stage 2
|
 |
|
|
1 | - | 1 |
| Tournament | Points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Applicable Tournament |
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th - 6th | Regular Season Match Victory |
| 1 | Kickoff
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 2 | Masters 1
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| 3 | Stage 1
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 |
| 4 | Masters 2
|
7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - |
| 5 | Stage 2
|
|
|
4 | 3 | - | 1 |
Kickoff
[edit]- Four on-LAN Kickoff Events, one in each international territory, between January 11th and February 7th.
- Each Kickoff consists of a double-elimination bracket featuring each region's 12 teams.
- Top 4 teams from 2024 receive first-round byes.
- The top 4 teams in each Kickoff earn Championship Points, with the winner earning 3 points.
- Top 2 teams from each Kickoff will qualify for
Masters Bangkok.
Masters
[edit]- Two Masters events along the circuit
- Events will take place in February/March and June
- Event will take place at
UOB Live, EmSphere Mall, Em District, Bangkok, Thailand from February 20th to March 2nd. - 8 teams (2 from each region).
- Format retained from Masters 1 2024 - Madrid:
- 8-team Swiss stage.
- Round 1 matches each region's top seed against the second seed from another region.
- The top 4 teams advance to a double-elimination playoff bracket.
- 8-team Swiss stage.
- Event will take place at
Enercare Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada from June 7th to the 22nd. - 12 teams (3 from each region).
- Format retained from Masters 2 2024 - Shanghai:
- 8-team Swiss stage.
- Round 1 matches each region's second seed against the third seed from another region.
- The top 4 teams advance to a double-elimination playoff bracket.
- Top seeds from each region bypass the Swiss Stage and choose their Upper Bracket Quarterfinal opponents from the teams that advanced from the Swiss Stage in random order.
- 8-team Swiss stage.
International League
[edit]- Two Stages of International Leagues along the circuit.
- Stages will take place in March-May and July-August.
- Playoffs are now expanded from 6 to 8 teams.
- Instead of a full single round robin over the course of the year, teams are drawn into two round-robin groups of 6 teams each.
- The top 4 teams in each group qualify for the playoffs.
- The groups are shuffled/redrawn before Stage 2.
International League - Stage 1
[edit]- Four on-LAN leagues, one in each international territory.
- Group Stage: Between March 13th and May 2nd.
- Playoffs: Between April 17th and May 18th.
- Top 3 teams from each League will qualify to Masters Toronto.
International League - Stage 2
[edit]- Four on-LAN leagues, one in each international territory:
- Group Stage: Between July 3th and August 17th.
- Playoffs: Between August 9th and 31th.
- Stage 1 records will no longer carry over.
- As before, 4 teams from each League will qualify to Champions.
- The top two teams in this stage qualify, while the other two berths are determined by Championship Points. For comparison, in 2024, the top three teams in Stage 2 qualified along with the top Championship Points scorer.
- Event will take place in
Paris, France from September 12th to October 5th. - 16 teams (4 from each region).
- Format retained from Champions 2024 Seoul:
- Four Double-Elimination Format (GSL) Groups
- Teams are placed into pots based on seeding and one team is drawn from each pot, with no teams from the same region in a group.
- The top 2 teams from each group advance to a double-elimination playoff bracket.
- Four Double-Elimination Format (GSL) Groups
Rules for Teams Qualified from Ascension
[edit]Beginning this year, non-partnered teams that qualified from Ascension will either be relegated to the VCL, have the chance to defend their spot or automatically qualify for the VCT for the following season based on their placing:
- Finishing 9th–12th automatically relegates the team back to Challengers, with no chance to play in VCT for the next year.
- If both non-partnered teams are automatically relegated, then the Ascension runner-up qualifies for the VCT in addition to the winner.
- Implemented to a degree entering the season in the Pacific League as Ascension 2024 runner-up BOOM Esports replaces Ascension 2023 winner Bleed Esports after Bleed is removed as part of penalties.
- Finishing 5th–8th (not qualifying for Champions, but qualifying for Stage 2 Playoffs or finishing in the top 8 including joint 8th overall based on Championship Points) means the team can compete at Ascension to retain their VCT berth.
- Qualifying for Champions (reaching top 2 in Stage 2 or having the most or second-most points in Championship Points) automatically qualifies the team for the VCT for the following year.
- If both non-partnered teams qualify for Champions, then the team that places higher at Champions automatically retains their spot and the team that places lower will have the chance to compete for their spot at Ascension.
Semi-pro system
[edit] Challengers Leagues
[edit]- VCT Partner teams will now be able to operate academy teams in the VCL that are not eligible for Ascension.
- Effective in late 2024, a third VCL split is added that begins during the VCT's OFF//SEASON.
- 14 minor regional leagues across three international territories, most of which feature Riot working with a co-organizer:
- Americas (3 minor regions)
North America – includes United States and Canada, co-organized by Liga ACE
Brazil, co-organized by Gamers Club
Latin America – 2 sub-regions, both co-organized by Liga ACE:
Latin America North – includes 
Colombia, 
Costa Rica, 
Cuba, 
Dominican Republic, 
Ecuador, 
El Salvador 
Guatemala, 
Haití, 
Honduras, 
Mexico, 
Nicaragua, 
Panama and 
Venezuela
Latin America South – includes 
Argentina, 
Bolivia, 
Chile, 
Paraguay, 
Perú and 
Uruguay
- EMEA (6 minor regions)
Northern, Eastern and Central Europe, co-organized by Mist Games and incorporating two minor regions that previously operated independently:
- Northern Europe –
United Kingdom, 
Nordic Countries (
Denmark, 
Sweden, 
Norway, 
Finland), 
Ireland and 
Malta - Eastern and Central Europe –
Poland, 
Czechia, 
Hungary, 
Ukraine, 
Serbia and 18 other countries
- Northern Europe –
Spain, co-organized by the LVP and now including 
Italy and 
Portugal, which previously operated independently- France &
Benelux (
Belgium, 
Netherlands, 
Luxembourg), co-organized by Webedia 
DACH (Deutschland, Austria, Confoederatio Helvetica – Germany, 
Austria, 
Switzerland and 
Liechtenstein), co-organized by PROJECT V (plus five teams from last season)
Turkey, co-organized by ESA Esports
MENA (Middle East and North Africa) – 2 sub-regions, both co-organized by Vanguard:
GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council – 
Bahrain, 
Kuwait, 
Oman, 
Qatar, 
Saudi Arabia, 
UAE), including 
Iraq and 
Pakistan
Levant (
Jordan, 
Lebanon, 
Palestine, 
Syria) & 
North Africa (including 
Morocco, 
Egypt, 
Algeria and 
Tunisia)
- Pacific (5 minor regions)
South Asia including 
India – co-organized by NODWIN Gaming
Southeast Asia, co-organized by SOOP and incorporating the following minor regions that previously operated independently:
- Thailand
Vietnam
Malaysia & 
Singapore
Hong Kong & 
Taiwan
Philippines
Indonesia
- Korea, co-organized by WDG
Japan, co-organized by Nippon Television Network Corporation and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners
Oceania – 
Australia and 
New Zealand, co-organized by LPL
- Americas (3 minor regions)
- The top Challenger teams qualify for the
Ascension tournament in their respective international territory - In addition, there are non-VCL competitions in China (
CN Nationals) to qualify teams for Ascension. Teams there must not only be ranked highly, but also be active and pass a verification process.
Ascension
[edit]- Four tournaments, one in each international territory.
- Each features the best Challengers teams in each region and may also feature previous non-partnered teams defending their VCT berths (see above).
- The winners of each Ascension tournament qualify for the 2026 International League in their respective international territory.
- If both non-partnered teams in a region placed 5th–12th in their International League and were thus relegated, the runner-up also qualifies.
Women's and Marginalized Genders Pro System
[edit]
- Women's and other marginalized genders circuit taking place throughout the year in different regions.
- The best teams from each region compete in an international event at the end of the year, the Game Changers Championship, in November.
- Game Changers Championship expands from 8 teams to 10, effective in 2024
Events
[edit]International Events
[edit]S
Tournament
Date
Prize Pool
Location
P#
Winner
Runner-up
Ascension
[edit]S
Tournament
Date
Prize Pool
Location
P#
Winner
Runner-up
Challengers
[edit]S
Tournament
Date
Prize Pool
Location
P#
Winner
Runner-up
Aug 25 - Sep 7, 2025
$15,000
Ho Chi Minh6 participants
Jul 8 - Sep 3, 2025
$62,500
North America16 participants
Jul 22 - Aug 21, 2025
$35,000
Southeast Asia12 participants
Jul 5 - Aug 17, 2025
$12,253.81
Istanbul10 participants
Jul 5 - Aug 16, 2025
$11,706.18
France8 participants
Jun 28 - Aug 16, 2025
$8,779.63
Hamburg8 participants
Jun 25 - Aug 14, 2025
$39,000
Latin America South8 participants
Jun 25 - Aug 13, 2025
$39,000
Latin America North8 participants
Jun 30 - Jul 28, 2025
Spain Italy Portugal10 participants
Jun 27 - Jul 3, 2025
$63,012.52
South Asia8 participants
May 13 - Jun 3, 2025
$5,000
Latin America South8 participants
May 12 - Jun 2, 2025
$5,000
Latin America North8 participants
Apr 8 - May 29, 2025
$49,500
North America16 participants
Apr 2 - May 18, 2025
$50,000
Southeast Asia12 participants
Apr 20 - May 12, 2025
Thailand8 participants
Apr 20 - May 12, 2025
Indonesia8 participants
Mar 22 - May 12, 2025
$8,426.11
Berlin8 participants
Mar 17 - May 4, 2025
$10,363.50
Istanbul10 participants
Mar 22 - May 3, 2025
$11,301.35
Évry-Courcouronnes8 participants
Mar 24 - Apr 30, 2025
Spain Italy Portugal10 participants
Jan 27 - Mar 20, 2025
$38,000
North America16 participants
Feb 2 - 22, 2025
Southeast Asia6 participants
Jan 28 - Feb 19, 2025
$5,000
Latin America South8 participants
Jan 12 - Feb 19, 2025
Spain Italy Portugal10 participants
Jan 27 - Feb 18, 2025
$5,000
Latin America North8 participants
Jan 11 - Feb 18, 2025
$10,466.66
France Benelux8 participants
Jan 18 - Feb 17, 2025
$8,282.94
Turkey10 participants
Jan 18 - Feb 16, 2025
$7,873.16
Cologne8 participants
Jan 16 - Feb 16, 2025
$50,000
Southeast Asia12 participants
References
[edit]- ↑ Riot Games (2024-08-20). "VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 Format Explained".
- ↑ "VCT 2025 Season Start: EYNTK". Riot Games. 2024-11-26.