The start of a new year means a new VALORANT esports season is about to begin! Leading up to the Masters Santiago 2026 tournament (starts 28 February) is the four regional Kickoff events, and to get us started, it's the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2026 Americas Kickoff. Let's dive in!

Taking place at the fantastic Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, United States, the VCT 2026 Americas Kickoff event will run for an entire month, from 15 January to 15 February.

Twelve (12) teams are competing for only three spots at VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026 and coveted VCT Americas points, which will ultimately help them qualify for Champions 2026.

• NRG
• Sentinels
• G2 Esports
• MIBR
• LOUD
• Cloud9
• Evil Geniuses
• ENVY
• KRÜ Esports
• FURIA
• 100 Thieves
• Leviatán

The tournament boasts a triple-elimination bracket format. The Upper Bracket Final, Lower Bracket Final, and Grand Final are best-of-five, while the rest are best-of-three. The teams that qualified for Champions Paris received a bye into round 2 of the Upper Bracket. These teams are NRG, MIBR, G2 Esports, and Sentinels.

Valorant esports fans can watch all the action from the VCT 2026 Americas Kickoff event via the VALORANT_Americas Twitch channel. Stay tuned as we’ll bring you all the results and final standings from the most significant VALORANT events here at Esports Central.

Header image via Riot Games.