Through an announcement video made on August 21st, Riot Games has revealed the detailed format of Valorant Champions Tour 2025, hinting at a series of exciting changes on the horizon.
For starters, the calendar for the Valorant Champions Tour 2025 has been expanded significantly. The upcoming VCT season will span from January to October, resulting in a much shorter off-season and helping prevent burnout among pros during the competitive year.
As already confirmed by Riot, the 2025 Challengers season is set to begin in October 2024. Starting next year, VCT partner teams will have the option to field Academy teams in Challengers. However, these Academy teams will not be eligible to qualify for the Ascension promotion tournament.
The VCT 2025 season will start in January with a Kickoff, introducing a new format where each region seeds 12 teams directly into a double-elimination bracket. The top two teams from each tournament will advance to Masters Bangkok.
The regular season is also getting a major overhaul, with Stage playoffs expanding from six to eight teams. In Stage 1, the top three teams from each region will qualify for Masters Toronto, bringing the total to 12 teams. Notably, results from Stage 1 will no longer impact Stage 2 standings. Eight teams will move on to the playoffs, where the top performers will secure direct qualification to Champions 2025, set to take place in Southeast Asia, with Bangkok, Thailand as the host city.
The devs have also confirmed new cosmetics which will be based on the upcoming VCT season, similar to the LOCK//IN capsules that we’ve seen in the past.
Lastly, the number of slots for the Valorant Game Changers Championship 2025, which will be held in November, has been expanded from eight to ten, providing more opportunities for GC teams to showcase their skills on the big stages.
