VCT Pacific 2026 talks finals venues, roadshows, and local talent

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VCT Pacific 2026 announced the cities for its upcoming roadshow and detailed some major updates, including a new triple-elimination tournament format and a revised system for choosing sides before matches (Skirmish).

2026 promises to be an exciting year for VCT Pacific, and Riot Games recently shared updates about upcoming events, including the cities that will host them, how the region has developed over the last year, and what they have planned for the future.

VCT Pacific 2026 final venues and roadshows

The VCT Pacific team revealed the locations of two roadshows for 2026.

The first major tournament of the season, the Stage 1 Finals, will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in May. Jake Sin, who leads VALORANT Esports in Asia-Pacific, said the team is thrilled to bring the VCT competition closer to its fans.

Sin expressed excitement about hosting the first official Tier 1 VCT event in Vietnam, bringing the VCT Pacific league to a new area of the Asia-Pacific region. He noted the significant growth of the Vietnamese player base and viewership, highlighting that Vietnamese is now among the top five languages for VCT watchers.

Stage 2 Finals in September will be held in Busan, South Korea.

How VCT Pacific grows viewers and talents

David Hong, who leads product for VCT Pacific, highlighted the strong growth the region experienced in 2025. He shared that the APAC region has a passionate fanbase, with VCT Pacific averaging 160,000 viewers throughout the season and peaking at 430,000. Hong also noted the success of Masters Bangkok, the first Masters event held in Southeast Asia, which attracted a record-breaking 5.2 million peak viewers, making it the most popular VCT Masters event ever.

He added that viewership has doubled in some regions, including South Korea and Vietnam.

Sin emphasized the value of developing local players. He noted that 17 players who started in the Challengers league moved up to VCT Pacific, and five new, unsigned players got their start in professional competition last year.

Perhaps the best example is PatMen, a player who began his career in the Challengers League in the Philippines. He quickly rose to prominence, culminating in a major victory at Masters Toronto with PRX last year. This success earned him both Rookie of the Year and Initiator of the Year awards at the VCT Pacific Awards 2026.

– Jake Sin, head of VALORANT Esports in Asia-Pacific

VCT Pacific in 2026 and beyond

As a huge fan, I’m so excited for what’s coming! Apparently, things are really shaking up in the competitive scene, and for the 2026 season, Kickoff is going to have a brand new triple-elimination bracket – a first for the game! It’s going to be awesome.

According to Hong, this new VALORANT format is a direct result of lessons learned from past competitive seasons. He explained that they carefully designed it with three key goals: to give teams more playtime, provide fans with more matches to watch, and create more important competitive opportunities.

The schedule for esports events is being adjusted to give teams that don’t make it to major international competitions less time off between events.

We’re also updating how teams choose sides on a map. Instead of a coin toss, we’ll be using a new system called Skirmish, which will decide who goes first. This is similar to a change being made in League of Legends Esports.

As a Valorant player, I’m really hyped about the new Challengers Path! It’s awesome that non-partner teams now have a real chance to make it to the VCT Pacific Stage 2 Playoffs, and ultimately, compete for the Champions title. Basically, Riot’s aiming to make the VCT more open and competitive in the long run – they want a pro scene where anyone with the skill to climb can actually make it, and this feels like a big step in that direction. According to Sin, they’re building a path to pro that’s all about merit and open competition, which is exactly what we’ve been asking for!

The VCT Pacific 2026 Kickoff tournament takes place from January 22nd to February 15th. The three highest-performing teams will earn a spot at the first Masters event of the year, Masters Santiago.

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2026-01-22 05:41