With the Season Kickoff fast fading into the sunset, we’re racing towards the start of VCT EMEA Regular Season. After Karmine Corp’s emergence as the surprise victors of Kickoff thanks to a dominant victory over fellow surprise finalists Team Heretics, the standings have been blown wide open – the stakes are well and truly set, and it’s already shaping up to be a rollercoaster of a year for EMEA. 

Whilst the action heats up for Masters Madrid, we’re turning our eyes back to Berlin for just a moment, as we give you the lowdown on everything you need to know ahead of the beginning of the Regular Season. 

VCT EMEA Regular Season Overview 

Competition in VCT EMEA this year will take place across two stages. These stages will provide qualification to Masters Shanghai (Stage 1) and VALORANT Champions Seoul (Stage 2) respectively – performance in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 will be the deciding factor in crowning the 2024 VCT EMEA Champion. If our VCT EMEA teams want a shot at dethroning Team Liquid as the current reigning EMEA Champions, then they’ll need to bring their A game over the course of the year’s domestic competition.  

Our eleven competing teams have been drawn into two groups with Group Alpha consisting of five teams, and Group Omega consisting of the remaining six teams. These group draws were created using a seeding system based on performance at Kickoff, wherein teams were assigned to one of five pools and drawn into their respective groups according to those pools. Check out the group draws below! 

VCT EMEA 2024: Stage 1 Format 

Stage 1 will run from April 3 to May 12, and will see teams compete in cross-group play, with all teams from Group Alpha playing all teams from Group Omega in a single best-of-three (BO3) matchup. This will be followed by playoffs, which will see the top three teams from each group compete in a modified double-elimination bracket from May 8 to May 12, where the opening round will be single-elimination and all subsequent rounds played as double-elimination. 

Group stage performances will play a major part in how the playoffs shake out, as the top team from Groups Alpha and Omega will receive a bye to the second round. The remaining four teams will compete in the opening round, with everyone’s eyes on one of three qualifying spots to Masters Shanghai, awarded to the top three teams in the playoffs. The two teams that lose in the second round will play in a third-place decider to determine who grabs the final spot to Masters Shanghai and joins our two Stage 1 Grand Finalists.

VCT EMEA 2024: Stage 2 format 

As with Stage 1, Stage 2 (running from June 18 to July 19) will take place in two groups – Alpha (5 teams) and Omega (6 teams). However, Stage 2 will see teams compete in inter-group play, with all teams from Group Alpha playing against all other teams in Group Alpha, and vice versa for Group Omega.

Qualification to the Stage 2 playoffs will take results from both stages into account, with the top six teams based on overall performance from Stages 1 and 2 qualifying for the playoffs (July 15-19). Once qualified, the format will mirror Stage 1 playoffs, with the same modified double-elimination bracket and a bye in the opening round for the top team from each group. 

However, here there are four qualification spots up for grabs as our teams turn their eyes to Champions. The winner, runner-up, and third-place finisher from the Stage 2 playoffs will all stamp their ticket to Seoul, qualifying as first, second, and third-place seeds respectively. But for the final fourth seed spot, we’ll be looking at performance throughout the year – as the fourth spot for EMEA at Champions will go to the Season Championship points leader from the remaining non-qualified teams. 

VCT EMEA 2024: Championship points 

Championship points will be all-important for Champions 2024 – so how do they work? 

To start, Karmine Corp has received three Championship points for their victory at EMEA Kickoff 2024. For Stage 1 and Stage 2, one point is awarded per match win and one point is awarded to both playoff teams with a bye. The winner of each playoff receives three points. For Masters, both winners will also receive three points.

It’s only a few short days until the beginning of Masters Madrid – where Karmine Corp will take to the stage as the pride of EMEA from March 14-24 alongside the only team competing on home soil, Team Heretics. There are still a few tickets available for purchase here, so show up and show out for your region at the first international tournament of 2024 – you can also keep up with us live on Twitch and via social media. 

And speaking of tickets, we’ll be releasing VCT EMEA Regular Season Stage 1 tickets at 6pm CET on Wednesday, March 13 to watch VCT EMEA live and in-person from the Riot Games Arena. We can’t wait to see you there!