The group stage of VALORANT Champions 2026 concluded on Oct. 4, confirming the eight teams that advanced to the playoffs in Shanghai. Sixteen teams entered, and only half survived the opening stage. A map is played to 13 rounds, and the three maps of the LOUD–NRG semifinal on Oct. 10 lasted 36 to 49 minutes each, while a round of jetx ends as soon as the plane flies away. Four teams progressed without losing a series, and four others recovered from an early defeat, and all four VCT China teams went out in the group stage.
This report covers the group-stage results and the playoffs through Oct. 11, when the final four of Team Vitality, LOUD, G2 Esports, and 100 Thieves was set.
Four Teams Qualified With 2-0 Records
100 Thieves, Team Vitality, Paper Rex, and NRG finished their groups with two series wins and no losses. The group format works differently from a mines game, where a single wrong tile ends the round: a first series loss only sends a team to a decider, where one more win still earns a playoff place. Each of these four won its opener and then its winners’ match.
100 Thieves had the cleanest map record, beating T1 2-0 and FUT Esports 2-0 for a 4-0 map score. Paper Rex beat Team Liquid 2-1 and G2 Esports 2-1, dropping two maps in total. NRG beat Nongshim RedForce 2-0 and Karmine Corp 2-1, and Team Vitality beat Global Esports 2-1 and LOUD 2-0.
Four More Teams Survived the Deciders
T1, G2 Esports, LOUD, and Nongshim RedForce qualified after losing a series earlier in the stage. T1 lost its opener 0-2 to 100 Thieves and then won its decider against FUT Esports 2-0. G2 Esports lost its winners’ match to Paper Rex 1-2 and then beat Team Liquid 2-0 in the decider on Oct. 3. LOUD lost its winners’ match 0-2 to Team Vitality and then beat Global Esports 2-0 in the decider on Oct. 4. Nongshim RedForce lost its opener to NRG 0-2 and won its decider.
| Team | Group-stage series record | Route to qualification |
| 100 Thieves | 2-0 (maps 4-0) | Opening match and winners’ match |
| Team Vitality | 2-0 (maps 4-1) | Opening match and winners’ match |
| Paper Rex | 2-0 (maps 4-2) | Opening match and winners’ match |
| NRG | 2-0 (maps 4-1) | Opening match and winners’ match |
| T1 | 2-1 | Decider match |
| G2 Esports | 2-1 | Decider match |
| LOUD | 2-1 | Decider match |
| Nongshim RedForce | 2-1 | Decider match |
The group stage used a format where the winners’ match decides direct qualification and a team that loses once plays a decider.
Playoff Results and Bracket Progress
The playoffs are double elimination, which means a first loss moves a team to the lower bracket and a second loss ends its run. They began on Oct. 7. In the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, NRG beat T1 2-0 and LOUD beat Paper Rex 2-0 on Oct. 7, then G2 Esports beat 100 Thieves 2-0 and Team Vitality beat Nongshim RedForce 2-1 on Oct. 8.
In Lower Bracket Round 1 on Oct. 9, T1 beat Paper Rex 2-1 and 100 Thieves beat Nongshim RedForce 2-1. In the Upper Bracket Semifinals on Oct. 10, Team Vitality beat G2 Esports 2-0 and LOUD beat NRG 2-1. On Oct. 11, in the Lower Bracket Quarterfinals, 100 Thieves beat the reigning champions NRG 2-0 and G2 Esports beat T1 2-1.
NRG and T1 share 5th to 6th place and $85,000 each. Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce share 7th to 8th place and $50,000 each.
What the Bracket Showed
No team from the Pacific or China reached the final four. Paper Rex, Nongshim RedForce, and T1 all dropped to the lower bracket after their first playoff series, and only T1 won a lower-bracket match. The final four is Team Vitality from EMEA and three Americas teams.
Several series were close. Nongshim RedForce won Abyss 13-4 against Team Vitality in the quarterfinals, with Vitality taking only four rounds on defence, and Vitality still won the series 2-1. LOUD and NRG split the first two maps of their semifinal, with maps of 46 and 49 minutes, and LOUD took the decider on Summit 13-3 in 36 minutes.
The Final Four and the Remaining Schedule
The final four play at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. Every series is best-of-three except the Lower Bracket Final and the Grand Final, which are best-of-five.
The Upper Bracket Final between Team Vitality and LOUD and the Lower Bracket Semifinal between G2 Esports and 100 Thieves are scheduled for Oct. 16. The Lower Bracket Final is scheduled for Oct. 17, and the Grand Final for Oct. 18. Team Vitality beat LOUD 2-0 in the group stage, the only series LOUD lost at the event. The champion receives $1,000,000 of the $2,250,000 prize pool, and the runner-up receives $400,000.
Alt: Esports stage with a blank bracket board and two empty player desks
