VCT Ascension Americas 2025: Full Guide With Teams, Dates, and Format

The road to VCT Americas 2026 is almost complete, and one final hurdle remains — VCT Ascension Americas 2025. The last event in the VALORANT Challengers circuit calendar, Ascension is the chance for one team to join the region’s elite and secure a place in next year’s international league.

From October 17 to October 26, eight teams representing North America, Brazil, and Latin America will battle at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo, Brazil, in a high-stakes showdown that will define the next era of the Americas competitive scene.

A Single Spot for Glory

Like 2024, the 2025 Ascension Americas tournament will promote just one team to the VCT Americas League for the 2026 season. The stakes could not be higher — for these squads, it’s the difference between staying in the Challengers ecosystem or breaking into the global stage.

G2 Esports, who earned enough championship points and qualified for Champions 2025, have retained their VCT Americas slot, meaning they do not need to requalify. On the other hand, 2Game Esports have been relegated from VCT Americas after failing to meet promotion or qualification criteria.

That opens up a single, coveted spot for the winner of this event — a one-way ticket into next year’s VCT Americas season.

VCT Ascension Americas Format

The 2025 edition of Ascension Americas features a refined structure, emphasizing consistency and adaptability across two stages: the Swiss Stage and Playoffs.

Swiss Stage (October 17–21, 2025)

• 8 participating teams from North America, Brazil, and LATAM South.
• Swiss System format — all teams play until reaching two wins (advance) or two losses (eliminated).
• All matches are Best-of-3 (Bo3).
• The top 4 teams from this stage will advance to the Playoffs.

Playoffs (October 23–26, 2025)

• 4-team Double-Elimination Bracket.
• All matches (except the Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final) are Best-of-3 (Bo3).
• The Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final will be Best-of-5 (Bo5).
• The winner of the Grand Final will be promoted to VCT Americas 2026.

This structure guarantees multiple opportunities for redemption, but also punishes inconsistency — one bad day in the Swiss Stage can end a team’s season. Throughout 2025, each region hosted multiple Challengers splits and playoffs. Teams accumulated circuit points, with the top performers advancing to Ascension. Brazil and North America dominated their domestic circuits, while LATAM South produced its strongest set of finalists yet with 9z Team and ShindeN.

The year’s competitive landscape showed a tightening gap across subregions, setting the stage for one of the most unpredictable Ascension tournaments to date.

Prize Pool Distribution

The total prize pool for VCT Ascension Americas 2025 is $97,000 USD, distributed as follows:

VCT Ascension Americas – Key Dates

Qualified Teams & Regional Distribution

Here’s the current field of teams heading into Ascension Americas 2025.

Ascension Americas includes a Swiss Stage, then playoffs. There are Play-In rounds that mean that only two of WU, 6K or RED can qualify: this will be decided through a single round-robin format.

These teams span Brazil, LATAM, and North America — a mix that sets up cross-regional clashes early on. Another achievement is Winthrop being the first team to make it from Collegiate to Ascension.

The Road to Ascent: Teams’ 2025 Paths

• Stellae Gaming (Brazil): Dominant in Brazil’s local circuits, they earned seeding rights as Challengers BR champions.
• Team Solid (Brazil): Came through the Brazil points system.
• 9z Team (LATAM South): Qualified via the LATAM Regional Finals, where they lifted the trophy.
• ShindeN (LATAM South): The second LATAM slot, locked in by garnering enough circuit points in the LATAM circuit.
• TSM (North America): Qualified through their NA circuit performance as Challengers NA winners.
• ENVY (North America): Locked in the second North America slot as the runner up.
• Play-In #1/#2: These two slots will be filled by teams emerging from the Play-ins: two of WU, 6K or RED will qualify depending on their games against each other.

These paths showcase how critical regional consistency and final-stage resilience became in 2025 — teams couldn’t just dominate splits; they had to deliver when qualifications mattered most.

Schedule & Match Timing

• Play-In Day: October 15
• Swiss Stage: October 18 – October 22
• Playoffs: October 24 – October 27
• Promotion Matches (Bo5): In the final playoff days

All matches are scheduled as Best-of-3 until the final two promotion matches, which are Best-of-5 and decide the ascension to VCT Americas league. All of VCT Ascension Americas will be streamed through the official channels of VALORANT Esports. You can follow the coverage in real time as well as all the information and highlights on their official social media:

• TWITCH: twitch.tv/valorant_americas
• YOUTUBE: youtube.com/@valorant_americas
• X: x.com/valesportsna
• INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/valesportsna
• TIKTOK: tiktok.com/@valesportsna