© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
One of the most diverse and competitive circuits in the VALORANT scene is back! VALORANT Challengers SEA is set to return in 2026! Join us as we continue to elevate emerging talents and shine a spotlight on the stars of tomorrow.
This year, Challengers SEA teams will be fighting for a spot at VCT Pacific Stage 2 Play-Ins, where they’ll go head-to-head with VCT Pacific teams for a spot at the Stage 2 Playoffs, giving them a direct shot at qualifying for Champions and becoming kings of the Pacific!
Find out more about the new VALORANT Challengers SEA 2026 ecosystem and how your team can sign up for the Open Qualifiers to test your skills against the region’s finest.
Challengers SEA 2026 will be divided into 2 Splits with 4 Phases in each Split.
Phase 1 - Open Qualifiers
Open Qualifiers (OQ) will be held throughout the region for aspiring players in a competitive and merit based path to pro. Form a team of 5 and compete in this Phase to start your journey. Read on to find out more on how to register.
The top teams from Open Qualifiers will advance into their respective regional tournaments.
Phase 2 - Regional Tournaments
There are 5 Regional Tournaments - Indonesia (ID), Philippines (PH), Rest of SEA (RoSEA), Thailand (TH), and Vietnam (VN).
For Split 1, each Regional Tournament will include teams from Challengers SEA 2025 Split 3 as well as the top teams from the corresponding region’s OQ to make a total of 8 teams. Here is the breakdown:
Regional Tournament ID - BOOM Esports + 7 OQ teams
Regional Tournament PH - NAOS Esports, OASIS Gaming, and XIPTO Esports + 5 OQ teams
Regional Tournament RoSEA - Motiv Esports + 7 OQ teams
Regional Tournament TH - Shaper Esport, Z11, and Team NKT + 5 OQ teams
Regional Tournament VN - Fancy United + 7 OQ teams
In Split 2, only the top 4 teams from Split 1’s Regional Tournaments will automatically retain their spot in the Regional Tournaments of Split 2. The bottom 4 teams will have to return to the Open Qualifiers in Split 2.
Each Regional Tournament will be a double elimination bracket, with the top 2 teams advancing to Challengers SEA Group Stage. The first placed team will have seeding advantage during the Group Stage.
Phase 3: Challengers SEA Group Stage
In the Group Stage, the top 2 teams from each Regional Tournament will be joined by 2 of the best Premier* teams from the corresponding Episode.
They will then be divided into 4 groups of 3. Teams from the same region cannot be drawn into the same group. The top 2 teams from each group will advance to the next Phase.
Teams will also start accumulating Challenger Points in Phase 3, which will be used to qualify a SEA team for the VCT Pacific Stage 2 Play-Ins Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) at the end of Split 2.
In line with our goal of rewarding consistent performance and ensuring that every series carries meaningful stakes, each match win in the Challengers SEA Group Stage will award a team one point.
*In Premier, to determine the two teams advancing to Split 1, we will host a gauntlet featuring six teams, two from each act (V25A4–V25A6). For Split 2, we will host a gauntlet featuring top teams from V26A1 and V26A2 to determine the two teams advancing to Split 2.
Phase 4: Challengers SEA Playoffs
The top 8 teams that qualified for the Playoffs will compete in a double elimination bracket.
Advancing further in the Playoffs and securing higher placements will also award additional Challenger Points:
1st place: 5 points
2nd place: 4 points
3rd place: 3 points
4th place: 2 points
5-6th place: 1 point
The team with the highest number of Challenger points at the end of Split 2 will qualify for the LCQ.
In Split 2, the Challengers SEA Playoff winner will earn themselves a direct spot at VCT Pacific Stage 2 Play-Ins. The runner-up will qualify for LCQ, where they will be joined by the third seed from SEA (via Challenger points), and compete against the best team from South Asia and Oceania for a slot at Stage 2 Play-Ins.
Registration period are as follows:
Split 1: 12th - 24st January 2026
Split 2: 30th March - 9th April 2026
Interested applicants can sign up for your respective region’s Open Qualifier at the following links:
Indonesia: https://forms.gle/ePqjNgHL2gRujyZU7
Philippines: https://forms.gle/dZGGVo2c2138YseK8
Rest of SEA: https://forms.gle/ger96KZZckTvk5Av9
Thailand: https://forms.gle/WfbDPBaQcj97SG777
Vietnam: https://forms.gle/oEji7B5WXoBDfBNX7
Fans can catch Challengers SEA 2026 through local language broadcasts at the following links:
English
Bahasa Indonesia
Tagalog
Thai
Vietnamese
