VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026: Full Guide, Teams, How to Watch

VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 is the most important event of the year, proving once and for all which teams mark their names in the title’s esports history. Here’s an explainer.

VALORANT Champions Shanghai is Here

Everything in the VCT season so far has built up to VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026. The tournament will bring together the best 16 teams from around the world. This is China’s first time hosting Champions, giving it a special significance to the region. With a massive prize pool up for grabs and the end of the VCT’s franchise era looming near, there’s a lot at stake.

What’s the Prize Pool?

VALORANT Champions Shanghai has a 2,225,000 USD prize pool. Riot splits it between teams based on their placements:

• 1st: 1,000,000 USD
• 2nd: 400,000 USD
• 3rd: 250,000 USD
• 4th: 130,000 USD

The Main Storylines

Valorant Champions Shanghai 2026 marks the first time China has hosted the tournament, and it also closes out the franchised era before VCT returns to open qualifiers in 2027. NRG heads in as the defending champion after their run last year, fighting to maintain the title. Meanwhile, all eyes are on EMEA since it’s the region’s first Champions without Fnatic, ending an era for the squad that once brought the region a Masters title back in 2023. Which team will take the spotlight now that there’s space?

Several fresh faces are making their Champions debuts this year. Global Esports defied all the odds to qualify, winning VCT Pacific after risky roster moves and coach-swapping controversy. The team arrives at Shanghai following a reverse sweep run, and fans worldwide are starting to root for their underdog arc. Meanwhile, Karmine Corp won VCT EMEA Stage 2, proving they’ll be fierce competition.

All VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 Teams

Now, here’s a quick list of every team that qualified for VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026:

• 100 Thieves (Americas)
• LOUD (Americas)
• NRG (Americas)
• G2 Esports (Americas)
• Karmine Corp (EMEA)
• Team Liquid (EMEA)
• FUT Esports (EMEA)
• Team Vitality (EMEA)
• Global Esports (Pacific)
• Nongshim RedForce (Pacific)
• Paper Rex (Pacific)
• T1 (Pacific)
• TYLOO (China)
• JD Gaming (China)
• EDward Gaming (China)
• XLG Esports (China)

Who are the Strongest Teams in VALORANT Champions Shanghai?

Anything can happen in the VCT. Several orgs, though, are already standing out above the rest.

Paper Rex is on everyone’s mind. The roster has made a name for itself by dictating the meta and experimenting with strategies. It stands out worldwide already, and has a Masters Toronto 2025 trophy to boot. Jinggg, something, and f0rsakeN all shine on the battlefield. However, PRX is notorious for choking: after blazing through tourneys and making them look like bot lobbies, they consistently fall in the Grand Finals and place second. We saw this in Masters London, Masters Santiago, and Champs 2023. This season, PRX is hungry to finally taste a first-place Champions victory. Will 2026 be the year they finally make it happen?

NRG is also coming in from the Americas as the event’s reigning champions. Their 2025 win exhibited strong and consistent performance. Plus, the roster is stacked: IGL Ethan was on the Champs 2023 Evil Geniuses lineup, and skuba is one of the strongest Controller mains in the game right now. That said, NRG’s 2026 season start was shaky, but their VCT Americas Stage 2 finish reignited fans’ hopes for a back-to-back Champions win.

G2 Esports is another Americas powerhouse. They steamrolled competition in 2025 with a perfect three-peat VCT season, but lost out on the Champions trophy with a 7th/8th finish. 2026’s international showings have been inconsistent, but their regional performance remains pretty steady, proving their prime might not be over yet.

TYLOO and EDward Gaming are the ones to watch from China. EDG is the only Chinese Champs winner so far. After declining in 2025, they’ve turned things back around and putting up respectable performances. Notably, they grabbed 3rd in Masters London. TYLOO won China Stage 2, putting its name back in the ring. International opponents are scared of SiuFatBB’s Initiator dominance.

Karmine Corp undeniably takes the EMEA crown. Their showing this year surprised the competition. This is definitely a team that shouldn’t be underestimated despite its lesser experience compared to other rosters.

What’s the Format?

VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 begins with a Group Stage. Here, all 16 qualified teams split into four groups of four. Each group is built using a seeding system that mixes one team from every region, so fans get a good variety of matchups. Every group stage match is a best of three, and the format follows a GSL style double elimination bracket. This means teams need two series wins to move on and two losses to get eliminated.

Once the group stage wraps up, the top two teams from each group move into the Playoffs. Here, eight squads battle through a full double elimination bracket. Most playoff matches keep the best of three format, but the lower bracket final and grand final switch to a best of five. The event spans two venues. Jing’an Sports Center hosts the Group Stage and early Playoff rounds, then the action shifts to the much larger Mercedes-Benz Arena for the Finals.

VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026: Schedule

• September 24: Group Stage begins.
• September 28: No matches.
• October 5-6: No matches.
• October 7: Playoffs begin.
• October 12-15: No matches.
• October 16: Finals begin.
• October 18: Grand Final.

How to Watch VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026

Riot Games will stream VALORANT Champions Shanghai live through Twitch and YouTube. In addition, it’ll be broadcast on the VALORANT Esports website.

Twitch Drops, Pick ‘Ems, and Shotcall: How to Get the VALORANT Rewards

Any Champions Shanghai viewers can grab free VALORANT items through Twitch drops, Pick ‘Ems, and Shotcall. To get the Twitch rewards, just connect your Twitch and Riot Games accounts. Then, activate the campaign in the Drops tab and fulfill the watch requirements on a participating channel. You can do Pick ‘Ems from directly in the game client, which has an Esports tab. Shotcall is a live Twitch extension. If you participate, pop-ups will appear throughout the games that you can vote on.

Rewards include:

Twitch Drops

• “Prepared” Title
• “Stamp of Approval” Spray

Pick ‘Ems

• “Calculated” Title
• “Stone of Heaven” Buddy
• “100%” Title
• “Master: Stone of Heaven” Buddy

Shotcall

• “The Catch” Title
• “Crab Mentality” Buddy
• “Frag or Die Trophy” Player Card

Stay tuned for more VALORANT esports news.