T1 turned its third VALORANT Champions appearance into its first playoff berth, sweeping FUT Esports 2-0 on Oct. 4 to secure its first top-eight finish at the event. Sunset and Ascent both ended 13-10.
LOUD claimed the other remaining spot, beating Global Esports 13-8 on Split and 13-9 on Sunset to complete the eight-team field.
Americas fill half the playoff bracket
The Americas send four teams to the playoffs: 100 Thieves, NRG, G2 Esports, and LOUD. Pacific has Paper Rex, T1, and Nongshim RedForce, while Team Vitality is EMEA’s sole qualifier. China will have no representative.
NRG faces T1, Paper Rex meets LOUD, 100 Thieves draws G2, and Team Vitality opens against Nongshim RedForce. The 100 Thieves-G2 pairing guarantees one Americas team will begin in the lower bracket. The double-elimination format gives teams a route to recover from an opening loss, but a second defeat ends their run. Opening matches are best-of-three, with the lower-bracket final and grand final played best-of-five.
A clear road towards all the glory.
Here's the #VALORANTChampions Shanghai Playoffs Bracket! pic.twitter.com/DvptpOp46D
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) October 4, 2026
Group results leave China out of the race
NRG, the 2025 Champions winner, and 100 Thieves, the VCT Americas Stage 2 winner, topped their groups. LOUD and G2 also advanced after losing to Paper Rex and Vitality, respectively. Paper Rex was the only Pacific team to win its group. Nongshim RedForce recovered from an opening loss to NRG by beating XLG and Karmine Corp, while T1 advanced with wins over JD Gaming and FUT.
Team Vitality won Group B with victories over Global Esports and LOUD, making it EMEA’s only playoff team.
The last hope of #VCTEMEA.
VIT will face NS in the first round of Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/QJio3Sfb52— VALORANT Esports EMEA (@vct_emea) October 4, 2026
China’s teams finished 0-8 in series and 2-16 in maps, leaving every one tied for last. Karmine Corp, FUT, and Team Liquid each earned their only tournament wins against Chinese opposition.
The 16-team event has run in Shanghai since September 24 and continues through October 18. The top two teams from each group advanced to the playoffs.
Which opening matchup looks most likely to send a contender into the lower bracket? Follow the regional race as the bracket unfolds in Shanghai on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
Valorant
Developed by Riot Games
Valorant is a character-based 5v5 tactical shooter set on the global stage. Outwit, outplay, and outshine your competition with tactical abilities, precise gunplay, and adaptive teamwork.
- Genre Shooter, Tactical
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Perspective First person
- Modes Multiplayer
- Release June 2, 2020
- Publisher Riot Games
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Age Rating
