VALORANT Esports | VCT EMEA Stage 2 2025 Primer: Format and Key Dates

It’s always bittersweet when a tournament as electric as VALORANT Masters Toronto comes to an end. But the action doesn’t stop here, with VCT EMEA Stage 2 kicking off on Wednesday, July 16.

We’re heading into the business end of the season, where every match matters more than ever. The Stage 2 crown, and four coveted spots at VALORANT Champions Paris are on the line.

Stage 1 champions Fnatic will be looking to carry their momentum to claim a second regional title in 2025. But Team Heretics, who fell short in the Stage 1 Finals, are out for revenge.

Team Liquid, our third-seed from Toronto, remains the only EMEA squad to attend both international events this year. They'll aim to maintain that consistency, as well as try to finally secure silverware in 2025.

And let’s not count out Team Vitality. The Kickoff champions will be hungry to bounce back after an early Stage 1 Playoffs exit and prove they still belong in the top tier.

The intensity is about to hit new heights. These are the moments that define a season, where every map, every round, and every play can change everything.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of VCT EMEA Stage 2.

VCT EMEA Stage 2 Format

Stage 2 will follow the same format as Stage 1, but now every result is critical with severe repercussions. Teams are not only competing to qualify for VALORANT Champions Paris, but also trying to save their 2025 season, with relegation a possibility for both Gentle Mates and Apeks.

Our 12 teams have been drafted into two fiercely competitive groups. They will compete in a single Round Robin, facing each group member once in a best-of-three.

Finishing fifth or sixth will almost certainly spell the end of a team’s season, with elimination from Playoff contention. Only the top four from each group will advance to the Playoffs and keep their Stage 2 trophy ambitions, and Champions Paris dreams alive.

During Playoffs, the 8 remaining teams will face off in a modified double-elimination bracket, with the best-performing Group Stage teams earning a slight advantage:

#1 seeds from each group will earn a bye directly into Round 2 of the Upper Bracket.
#2 and #3 seeds will face off in the Upper Bracket Opening Round.
#4 seeds have no second chances, they start in the Lower Bracket and face elimination immediately, playing against the losers of the Opening Round.

The Playoffs will also feature best-of-threes until the Lower Final and Grand Final, which will both feature best-of-fives to determine our Stage 2 Champions and first two qualifiers for VALORANT Champions 2025.

VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 Qualification

Champions is the most prestigious VALORANT event in the esports calendar, but this year’s tournament will be even more important for our EMEA teams, as they look to claim the crown on regional home soil.

The top two teams in the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Playoffs will automatically qualify for Champions Paris. Meanwhile, our third and fourth representatives will be determined by Championship Points, taking the entire season into account.

Fnatic lead the way, but there is very little currently separating most of our teams, meaning everything is to play for heading into the final stage of the year:

Rank	Team	Championship Points
1st	Fnatic	14
1st	Team Heretics	9
3rd	Team Liquid	8
4th	Team Vitality	6
5th	BBL Esports	5
6th	FUT Esports	4
7th	Natus Vincere	3
8th	Karmine Corp	2
9th	GIANTX	1
9th	Gentle Mates	1
9th	MKOI	1
12th	Apeks	0

VCT EMEA Stage 2 Key Dates

We’re getting straight into the nitty gritty with five consecutive weeks of competition, kicking off on Wednesday, July 16 and running until the Group Stage concludes on Friday, August 15.

Then, we’re keeping the momentum going by moving straight into the Playoffs, with four days of breathtaking action between August 21-24.

Stage 2 will reach its exhilarating conclusion the following week, with three-days of action. Friday, August 29 will host both the Upper Bracket Final and Lower Bracket Semi-Finals, before the Lower Finals take place on Saturday, August 30. The VCT EMEA season will then conclude on Sunday, August 31 in a history-making Grand Final.

Map Pool

The map pool for VCT EMEA Stage 2 is now locked in. Corrode - our brand new map set in a French castle town - will make its competitive debut this stage. Bind also returns to the pool, while Pearl and Split rotate out.

The updated Stage 2 map pool is: Corrode, Lotus, Icebox, Haven, Bind, Ascent, and Fracture.

Patch Notes

Due to infrastructure changes being made to the game itself, VCT EMEA Stage 2, as well as all other VCT ILs, will be played on Patch 11.0 for the entirety of the tournament.

VCT EMEA Stage 2 Ticket Sales

As a reminder, this year we are hosting fans in-person on Thursday’s and Friday’s during regular-season.

Tickets for the first three weeks of Regular Season go on-sale today (Thursday, June 26) at 18:00 CEST. You can join us live at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin by securing your tickets here.
For the additional weeks, tickets will release each subsequent Wednesday at 18:00 CEST, via the same link.