{"id":12357,"date":"2025-07-12T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/?p=12357"},"modified":"2025-07-14T08:33:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T08:33:00","slug":"qualify-for-valorant-champions-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/qualify-for-valorant-champions-tour","title":{"rendered":"How Do Teams Qualify For The VALORANT Champions Tour?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) is Riot\u2019s ultimate proving ground, a place where aim, mechanics, and grit are pushed to the limit. It\u2019s where we find out who\u2019s built for the big stage. But what does the road to Champs actually look like, and, more importantly, how do teams qualify? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guide will map out the entire VCT roadmap, including an explanation of where Masters fits into the overall structure and how Riot\u2019s broader esports ecosystem ties it all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VALORANT Champions Tour Format Explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The VCT is a global competitive circuit that connects in-game ranked play to the international stage. It all starts in Premier<\/em>, where teams can qualify for Challengers<\/em> by winning their zone\u2019s Contender division. At the end of every two Acts, the top Premier teams are promoted into regional Challengers Leagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, the top Challengers teams can qualify for Ascension<\/em>. If victorious, they can earn a spot in the International Leagues<\/em> (i.e., VCT Americas, EMEA, Pacific, or China). These begin in January with Kickoff events, followed by Stage 1 and Stage 2 regular season splits, with each split culminating in regional playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How
ft. Riot Games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Top performers from each stage qualify for Masters<\/em> events (Bangkok<\/a> and Toronto<\/a> in 2025), which award Championship Points. These points, combined with Stage 2 playoff results, determine qualification for the year\u2019s final and most prestigious event: VCT Championship<\/a> (\u201cChamps\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two ways teams can reach Champs: (i) by finishing top two in Stage 2 playoffs, or (ii) by holding the most Championship Points among unqualified teams. This year, VALORANT Champs 2025 will be held in Paris, featuring 16 teams competing for a $2.25 million prize pool and the title of World Champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"VCT
ft. Riot Games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How Does The VCT Differ From The Masters Tour?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Both the VCT and Masters are closely related, but serve very different roles in VALORANT. The VCT refers to the entire <\/em>annual circuit. That includes everything from the Premier and Challengers all the way up to Ascension, International Leagues, Masters, and Champs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, Masters refers specifically to the key global tournaments within the VCT circuit. It\u2019s where the top-performing teams from each International League compete. It\u2019s basically VALORANT\u2019s version of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in League of Legends or IEM Katowice in Counter-Strike 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"VCT
ft. Riot Games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How Does Riot\u2019s Esports Ecosystem Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Riot Games operates one of the most expansive esports ecosystems in the world, spanning multiple titles like League of Legends, VALORANT, and Teamfight Tactics. At its core is a tiered competitive structure made up of regional leagues, international events, and even talent development programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top-tier leagues like the LEC<\/a>, LPL<\/a>, VCT Americas, and TFT Pan-Regional circuits are proving grounds where pro teams compete across seasons (called \u201cActs\u201d or \u201cSplits\u201d). Performance in these leagues determines qualification for larger global events such as Worlds<\/a>, Champions, and the Tactician\u2019s Crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under this elite level are structured amateur and semi-pro systems, like Challenger Leagues and Premier, which (in most cases) offer clear promotion paths through performance-based tournaments like Ascension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each game has its own ecosystem but shares a unified set of rules, a Global Code of Conduct, and a dispute resolution process that ensures fairness, transparency, and sustainability for all players. You can learn more about the pipeline from casual to pro for Riot\u2019s top titles in the table below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier<\/strong><\/td>VALORANT<\/strong><\/td>League of Legends<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Entry level<\/td>Premier<\/td>Solo Queue (Ranked)<\/td><\/tr>
Amateur \/ Semi-pro<\/td>Challengers Leagues<\/td>Tier 2 Leagues (ERLs, CBLOLA, LDL, etc.)<\/td><\/tr>
Promotion Pathway<\/td>Ascension<\/td>–<\/td><\/tr>
Season Kickoff<\/td>Kickoff<\/td>First Stand<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Pro \/ Franchise Tier<\/td>International Leagues<\/td>Regional Leagues (LCK, LEC, LCP, LPL, and LTA)<\/td><\/tr>
Major<\/td>Masters<\/td>Mid-Season Invitational<\/td><\/tr>
World Championship<\/td>VALORANT Champions<\/td>Worlds<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/em><\/strong> League of Legends does not have a promotion tournament. Instead, players for Tier 2 teams will advance to the Tier 1 circuit via scouting or recruitment based on their performance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VALORANT Champs Isn\u2019t The Only Place To Win<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Think you can call the next big upset? Then put your prediction skills to the test at Thunderpick! Head to our VALORANT betting<\/a> section to enjoy unbeatable odds, exciting markets, and exclusive bonuses that turn every round into more than just another reason to cheer your favorite teams on the road to Champs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always practice <\/em>Responsible Gambling<\/em><\/a> and check out our <\/em>latest promo offers<\/em><\/a> and boosts. T&Cs apply. 18+ to play.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) is Riot\u2019s ultimate proving ground, a place where aim, mechanics, and grit are pushed to the limit. It\u2019s where we find out who\u2019s built for the big stage. But what does the road to Champs actually look like, and, more importantly, how do teams qualify?  This guide will map out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,101,1,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-esports","category-tournaments","category-uncategorized","category-valorant"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12357"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12552,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12357\/revisions\/12552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}