© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
This November and December, teams from across North America will compete in the 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff: North America Qualifiers, battling for the opportunity to advance to 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff and compete against the best teams in the region.
The North America Qualifiers will be produced in collaboration with Red Bull and will simultaneously act as the Red Bull Home Ground North America Qualifiers; this means that the reward is higher than ever, with teams fighting to achieve the qualification to both 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff and Red Bull Home Ground World Final 2026.
The 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and feature the 8 Partner Teams directly invited into the tournament, with 4 available slots to be conquered by Non-Partner teams, including one guaranteed slot for each region (North America, Brazil and Latin America), and a final slot allocated to the Americas LCQ.
Red Bull Home Ground World Final 2026 takes place December 10–13 in Los Angeles, with the Group Stage at WePlay Studios on December 10–11 and the World Finals at the Shrine Auditorium on December 12–13.
With Qualifiers, a 16-team Swiss Stage, an 8 Team Double Elimination Playoffs, and a final Americas Last Chance Qualifier, teams will have multiple opportunities to prove themselves and earn their place at the next level of VALORANT Esports.
The North America Qualifiers will take place across three stages: Qualifiers, Qualifiers Playoffs, and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
The journey begins with two Qualifiers in November, giving teams across North America an opportunity to enter the competition and earn a spot in the Main Tournament.
The qualifiers will be held with a single elimination best of three (Bo3) format. At least 4 teams will be qualifying from each Qualifier to the next stage.
Register link HERE.
The registration process for Qualifier 1 will start on October 19 at 12:00pm PT and end on October 30 at 11:59pm PT. For the Qualifier 2, registration will start on October 26 at 12:00pm PT and end on November 8 at 11:59pm PT.
To participate in these qualifiers, players need to be at least 17 years old and a peak rank of Ascendant as a minimum within the previous 6 months. Additionally, players need to consider that international travel will be required for the best teams that move forward, so having updated travel documentation and visas will be mandatory.
The Qualifiers Playoffs will feature 16 teams and will be played across two phases. These 16 teams will come from both the Qualifiers and invitations. The invited teams will be selected considering VCT Americas teams during 2026 that aren’t extended as Partner teams, top Challenger and Game Changers teams.
The competition begins with a three-day Swiss stage, where teams will need to secure two wins to advance.
From there, the remaining eight teams will move into a Double-Elimination Bracket played across six competition days.
Event Dates
The Champion of this tournament will qualify as the North American representative for the 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff, while also securing their spot in the Red Bull Home Ground event at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California.
The runner-up will also secure a spot at Red Bull Home Ground and a final chance to qualify to the VCT Americas Kickoff via the Americas LCQ, one final opportunity to keep their VCT dreams alive.
The Americas Last Chance Qualifier will take place on December 17–18 in São Paulo, Brazil, representing the final opportunity for teams to earn their way into VCT Americas Kickoff 2027. The second-place teams from North America, Brazil, and LATAM will compete for the final spot.
Every match matters, and by the end of the LCQ, North America's representatives for VCT Americas Kickoff 2027 will be set.
Mark your calendars for the full North America Kickoff Qualifier:
November 5–8 — Qualifier #1
November 12–15 — Qualifier #2
November 20–22 — Qualifier Playoffs Group Stage
December 1–6 — Qualifier Playoffs Double-Elimination Bracket
December 17–18 — Last Chance Qualifier
Fans can follow the action throughout the North America Kickoff Qualifiers on the official VALORANT Esports broadcast channels. The broadcasted portion of the competition will start in the Playoffs stage.
Twitch - /valorant_americas
YouTube - @valorant_americas
Follow VALORANT Esports for the latest schedules, results, and updates as North America's top aspiring teams battle for their opportunity to reach VCT Americas Kickoff 2027.
SOCIAL
Stay up to date on all things related to North America VALORANT across our official social channels.
X (formerly Twitter) - @valesportsna
Instagram - @valesportsna
TikTok - @valesportsna
