Overview

The first international event of the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour season is VALORANT Masters Santiago. It brings together 12 teams that earned their places through regional Kickoff tournaments in the Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China. Early qualifiers show a mix of teams making their first international appearance and teams with past international results. The field is still being finalized in some regions, but several top seeds are already set.

Schedule, Venue, and Format

The event runs from February 28 to March 15 at Espacio Riesco in Santiago, Chile. The prize pool is $1,000,000 USD. The format uses regional seeding from the Kickoff tournaments:

• 12 total teams: the top three from each of the four partnered regions (Americas, EMEA, Pacific, China).
• Seeds 2 and 3 from each region start in an eight-team Swiss Stage.
• The four #1 seeds skip the Swiss Stage and begin in the Playoffs.
• The Playoffs use a double-elimination bracket.

This structure rewards each region’s top Kickoff finisher with a later start and a guaranteed Playoffs berth, while seeds 2 and 3 fight through the Swiss Stage for the remaining Playoffs spots.

Qualified Teams So Far

As of mid-February, the following teams have secured places at Masters Santiago. Some regions still have one or more slots to decide after their Kickoff finals and lower bracket matches conclude.

VCT China

• #1 seed: All Gamers (AG) — defeated Xi Lai Gaming 3–2 in the Upper Final to claim the region’s top seed; this will be their first international event.
• #2 seed: Xi Lai Gaming (XLG) — secured the second seed by beating Bilibili Gaming 3–2 in the Middle Final; the lineup has prior international experience.
• #3 seed: Edward Gaming (EDG) — completed a lower bracket run and earned the final slot by eliminating Bilibili Gaming; EDG were the 2024 Champions winners.

VCT Pacific

• #1 seed: Nongshim RedForce (NS) — completed a perfect Kickoff and won the Grand Final 3–2 over RRQ.
• #2 seed: T1 — locked the second regional seed through the upper side of the bracket.
• #3 seed: Paper Rex — clinched the third seed with a lower bracket win over RRQ based on late updates from the Kickoff.

VCT EMEA

• #1 seed: BBL Esports — beat Gentle Mates 3–2 in the Upper Final to secure the top seed; this is their first international qualification as a partnered team.
• #2 seed: Gentle Mates — earned the second seed from the EMEA Kickoff.
• #3 seed: Slot not yet decided at the time of writing.

VCT Americas

• #1 seed: FURIA — advanced through the upper bracket and won 3–2 over MIBR to take the region’s top seed.
• #2 seed: Slot not yet decided at the time of writing.
• #3 seed: Slot not yet decided at the time of writing. Brazilian teams, including MIBR, were still in contention.

Key Notes From Regional Play

China delivered several notable results. All Gamers rose from the upper bracket and edged out Xi Lai Gaming 3–2 to secure the top seed. Their path included wins over established teams, including Bilibili Gaming, and marked a clear step up as they prepare for an international debut. Xi Lai Gaming recovered to lock the second seed by defeating Bilibili Gaming 3–2 in the Middle Final, showing resilience after the close loss to AG. Edward Gaming then completed a lower bracket push to eliminate Bilibili Gaming for the last Chinese slot. EDG enter Masters with a strong pedigree as the 2024 Champions titleholders.

In the Pacific, Nongshim RedForce finished the Kickoff without a series loss and won the Grand Final 3–2 against RRQ. T1 earned the second seed. Paper Rex secured the final Pacific place through the lower bracket, finishing the regional picture with three teams that have shown strong form at different points in recent seasons.

EMEA’s top seed went to BBL Esports after a 3–2 victory over Gentle Mates in the Upper Final. This is an important result for BBL, as it sends them straight into the Masters Playoffs as a #1 seed. Gentle Mates confirmed the second seed. The third EMEA slot was still pending, with lower bracket outcomes yet to be finalized at the time of this update.

In the Americas, FURIA took the top seed with a 3–2 win over MIBR after a steady upper bracket run. The region’s second and third seeds remained open, with several teams still competing for those places.

What Comes Next

Once all regional Kickoff events finish, the 12-team field will be complete. The second and third seeds will open Masters Santiago in the eight-team Swiss Stage, where teams play a set of matches to reach either advancement or elimination thresholds. The four #1 seeds—All Gamers, Nongshim RedForce, BBL Esports, and FURIA—will begin directly in the double-elimination Playoffs, joining the Swiss Stage survivors.

With dates, venue, and format set, the main open questions relate to the final seeds in EMEA and the Americas. As those matches conclude, the full bracket and Swiss Stage pairings will be set, giving a clear view of potential early matchups and paths to the grand final.