The new VALORANT Esports season has almost arrived and we’re so excited to welcome back our fans, both online and in-person to our all-new Riot Games Arena, for what is shaping up to be an amazing year of VCT EMEA action.
What better way to start the year off than with the aptly-named VCT EMEA Kickoff Tournament – a new addition to the global competitive calendar that will set the stage, and the stakes, for VCT EMEA 2024. The Kickoff tournament will pit our eleven EMEA teams against each other, with the best two teams securing spots at Masters Madrid in March, and establishing themselves as the teams to beat heading into the regular season.
VCT EMEA 2024 Kickoff Tournament: Format
Our eleven EMEA teams will be seeded and split into two groups of four and one group of three. As the highest-placed team at Champions 2023, Fnatic will be placed automatically into the group of three with a bye to the second round. As the team that made it through EMEA VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023, Gentle Mates will also be placed in the three-team group.
The other teams have been split into two pools based on Champions qualification during the 2023 VCT Season and will be drawn into the remaining nine slots. Each group will be a double-elimination, Best-of-Three format, where our teams will battle it out over four days for a spot in the Playoffs. But it won’t be an easy ride – only the winning team from each group will qualify for that all-important Playoff spot.
But that doesn’t mean game over for our remaining teams – well, not all of them. The second-place finishers in each group will move to the Play-In Stage, where they’ll battle it out for one last shot at the final remaining spot in the Playoff Stage. The team coming from the Play-In stage will then be placed on the opposite side of the bracket from the team from their original Group.
From the start of the Playoff Stage, it’s a straight shot to the final in a single elimination bracket, where the two finalists will secure their spot at Masters Madrid, with the Kickoff Tournament winner receiving preferential seeding. The Semi-Finals will be Best-of-Three with the Grand Final being a Best-of-Five.
VCT EMEA 2024 Kickoff Tournament: Dates
The VCT EMEA Kickoff Tournament will begin on February 20 - the schedule is as follows:
- Group Stage - February 20th - 25th
- Play-Ins Stage - February 26th
- Playoffs Stage - February 29th - March 1st
First round Group Stage matchups can be found below:
- February 20th (17:00 CET) - FUT Esports vs Team Heretics
- February 20th (20:00 CET)* - GiantX vs Karmine Corp
- February 21st (14:00 CET) - Natus Vincere vs BBL Esports
- February 21st (17:00 CET)* - Team Liquid vs KOI
- February 21st (20:00 CET)* - Team Vitality vs Gentle Mates
Games at this time may start later depending on the length of the previous match.
VCT EMEA 2024 Kickoff Tournament: Tickets
Tickets to watch the VCT EMEA 2024 Kickoff Tournament live at the freshly launched Riot Games Arena will be available from February 2, 17:00 CET and can be purchased here!
More Events to come
And after the 2024 Kickoff comes to a majestic close, it’s only a two-week wait before we’re back on your screens again for Masters Madrid, where the eight regional Kickoff winners and runners-up will battle it out for the first international title of the 2024 competitive year. Tickets are still available for purchase here.
But Masters Madrid isn’t the only upcoming event in our calendar, with the first Stage of VCT EMEA set to begin in April. Keep your eyes peeled for more information over at valorantesports.com, and make sure to follow us on social media to avoid missing a moment of the action!
