New event to be added following VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026

In revealing details for the upcoming VCT EMEA Kickoff event, developer Riot Games has teased a new EMEA tournament set to take place between Kickoff’s finish and before Masters Santiago. The event will feature teams that failed to secure a Masters spot.

A brand-new EMEA tournament

In their announcement of the new triple-elimination format and upcoming Kickoff features, Riot revealed that another tournament will soon be on the way. The announcement explains how, for those who fail to qualify for Masters Santiago, ‘they could head to a brand-new EMEA tournament.’

The tournament is said to take place before Masters. This would place the event between February 8th — the final day of EMEA Kickoff — and February 28th — the opening day in Santiago, Chile.

No details as to format and schedule have been released, with the promise of more details to be revealed soon.

VCT EMEA Kickoff schedule starts January 20th

Also revealed were the details surrounding VCT EMEA Kickoff, moving to a triple-elimination format in line with wider changes to the VALORANT Champions Tour for next year.

The tournament will begin on January 20th, with gamedays running on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for three weeks. The final week of action will then see fixtures running from Thursday, 12th until Sunday, 15th February, with each of the final three days deciding a separate Masters Santiago attendee.

The triple-elimination format means that each team has three lives. Once a side has faced defeat on three occasions, they will be eliminated. Each loss drops them down a bracket, with each bracket reaching a best-of-five final in which each winner will earn their Masters spot. All non-finals matches will be best-of-three.

Teams that represented EMEA at VALORANT Champions Paris this year will be granted byes to the second round of the upper bracket. This will see Fnatic, Team Liquid, GIANTX, and Team Heretics begin later in the event.

Matchups for the opening round have already been decided:

• Natus Vincere vs Karmine Corp
• FUT Esports vs Gentle Mates
• PCIFIC Esports vs BBL Esports
• ULF Esports vs Team Vitality

Used to help determine VALORANT Champions attendees later in the year, Championship Points will be awarded to the top four sides at the event. The winning team will receive 4 points, second place 3 points, third place 2 points, and the fourth place team will earn 1 point.