© 2025 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
© 2025 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
Hello everyone! Leo here on behalf of the VCT team. It’s that time of the year — we’re wrapping up 2025, gearing up for 2026, and I’d like to take a moment to celebrate all the amazing things we’ve accomplished together.
Short on time? No problem. Here’s the TL;DR:
Record-breaking global events and our first Sports Emmy
Unshakable competitive parity, Pacific’s grand-slam hunt, and NRG’s unforgettable championship run
A historic, culture-defining Champions Paris with our most ambitious opening ceremony and collaboration yet
A breakout year for new talent and rookies across the VCT
Team Liquid VISA makes history at Game Changers Championship; Shopify Rebellion Gold breaks into Challengers
All-time engagement highs with Pick’Ems and the launch of Shotcall
Over $100M shared with teams, making VCT one of the healthiest esports ecosystems in the world
Major competitive and ecosystem updates coming in 2026, paving the way for the next era of the VCT
We had another incredible year of global events! After a punchy Kickoff across all four International Leagues, we headed to Bangkok, Thailand, for the first Masters of the season. T1 took the title after an incredibly tight grand finals against G2 that ended on an overtime (16–14) Pearl — giving stax, BuZz, and the whole team a much-deserved win. Masters Bangkok reached 5.2M peak viewers and averaged 1.7M across the event, making it the most-watched Masters in VCT history.
From there we headed to Toronto, Canada, for the second Masters of the year and a beautiful celebration of five years of VALORANT. We got to experience one of the coolest and most active communities in the world, with festivities including a five-year retrospective, open play area, meet & greets, and more. The competition saw the beloved PRX (not-so-hot take: everyone’s a PRX fan) lifting the trophy against FNATIC, and f0rsakeN taking home a shiny MVP bracelet. The event hit 3.8M peak viewers and averaged 1.5M, making it the most-watched VCT event in the Americas to date.
Masters Toronto and Red Bull Homeground (thanks to our partners at Red Bull for an amazing event) finally allowed us to bring VALORANT to the east coast of North America, and it was incredible. Thanks for being such great hosts!
And of course we capped the season in the City of Lights, Paris, France, with our most ambitious Champions ever. Among several highlights, we launched our first collaboration with Fragment, led by the hugely influential streetwear designer Hiroshi Fujiwara. The competition opened at Les Arènes in Évry, our largest group-stage venue ever, hosting over 2,000 fans. We also held the first-ever Champions Gala — a night that brought together the most influential names in the community to celebrate Champions and the most exciting weekend in the VALORANT calendar. Seeing pros and creators looking real nice in their gala fits was awesome. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if we could get folks out of jeans and sweatpants.
The event’s epic finale took place at the iconic Accor Hotel Arena in Bercy, in the heart of Paris, with over 10,000 fans watching the culmination of a year-long creative journey as Qing Madi performed EGO live on stage, this year’s anthem Last Shot, alongside our largest fan fest yet. I personally had a lot of fun meeting players at the fan fest, talking about the future of the VCT at the esports panel, and shopping around the artist alley.
And then of course, there was the competition. NRG decided to go on a run (insert Sideshow meme here) and made grand finals. They started convincingly, but what looked like a clean 3–0 turned into one of the most memorable Champions grand finals ever after an unbelievable 11–1 comeback from FNATIC in game three. Boaster and team stupefied NRG into five maps, setting the arena on fire and making the home crowd (including his biggest fan) very proud. But it was NRG’s day. The brilliant roster — composed of three rookies: mada, skuba, and the MVP-Odin-abuser-ohnePixel-twin brawk; the now-retired W streamer s0m, and Ethan, the first-ever two-time VALORANT world champion — showed the world why they deserved the title. And of course, we can’t forget the man who, fueled by chicken nuggets and a lot of grit, took big risks and proved everyone wrong: coach bonkar.
Over 28M fans watched Champions Paris, reaching a peak of 5M viewers and averaging 1.27M, showing the scale and passion of our amazing community.
For anyone counting, both Masters events had all four territories represented in the top four — T1, G2, EDG, and VIT in Bangkok; PRX, FNC, WOL, and G2 in Toronto. Champions had three out of four with NRG, FNC, DRX, and PRX. Show me a more global and competitive esport. Go on, I’ll wait. Jake Sin and the VCT Pacific team had a whole campaign ready to celebrate their grand slam for winning all three global events of the season. Wasn’t this time, but hey, great problem to have. A huge kudos to all pro teams and players for putting in the work and continuing to raise the bar year after year. As always: we create the stage, you put on the show.
Last but not least, earlier this year VALORANT won its first Sports Emmy from the National Academy of Arts and Sciences for Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage, in recognition of Champions Seoul. Everything we do is for players, but it was awesome to celebrate the talented and passionate crew working in front of and behind the cameras. Congratulations!
It was another great year for emerging talent in the VCT. Several players showed us why it’s worth believing in the dream, seeing all their hard work pay off by making it to the highest levels of our sport.
Let’s start with one of the most surprising stories of the year. RANKERS began as a team of streamers and everyday ranked players, defined by aggressive risk-taking and a more chaotic, less meta-locked approach than traditional pro teams. ENVY, a storied organization in VALORANT, was reestablished in January 2025 and saw the roster’s potential, signing all five players in March. They went on to dominate NA Challengers, at one point achieving an impressive 17-game win streak. They showed up strong at Ascension and secured a slot in VCT Americas for 2026. It was a remarkable 5 friends and a dream, one we celebrate and hope to see more of. And of course, ENVY wasn’t the only team ascending this year. A big welcome to ULF, PCIFIC, and SLT Esports for joining the big leagues, as well as to G2, Nongshim RedForce, Xi Lai Gaming, and Dragon Ranger Gaming for defending their spots!
Our four international leagues saw more than 78 rookies (about 27% of players), referring to those who were competing in Challengers last year and made it to the top tiers of the sport in 2025. In particular, four out of ten players in the Champions Paris grand finals were in their debut year: mada, skuba, and brawk on NRG, and kaajak on FNATIC. In many ways, it feels disingenuous to call these players “rookies,” since many have been grinding VALORANT for years. Nonetheless, these are strong signals of a very healthy talent pipeline — proof that betting on new players can yield great results, and above all, that the gap between partner and non-partner teams isn’t that large after all.
We’ve also seen Game Changers inch even closer to the top. Shopify Rebellion Gold made history as the first Game Changers team to qualify into Challengers North America. In Brazil, both Team Liquid and MIBR finished one game away from Challengers. These are exciting, commendable results that show how much progress these teams have made — and just how great these players are.
Another remarkable storyline emerging from Game Changers this year is the rise of Korea’s grassroots powerhouse led by streamer 972, a team built from his own resources, personally scouted talent, and dedicated coaching. Their dominant run through GC Korea and historic qualification as the first-ever Korean team to reach the Game Changers Championship not only proved doubters wrong, but also sparked renewed interest among Korean players and fans.
Last but certainly not least, we hosted our largest Game Changers Championship yet, at LoL Park in Seoul, welcoming over 400 fans who came to witness Team Liquid make history. After three consecutive finals for Brazil, the Cavalaria finally took the title in a hard-fought 3–2 series against Shopify. It was a much-deserved victory led by the amazing and inspiring IGL Daiki, who now joins a select group of players who own a coveted VCT MVP bracelet. Mentored by FalleN, a legend in Brazilian esports, Daiki is well on her way to becoming a legend of her own. It takes a village to make change, and all the support matters.
The event featured activations, merchandise, meet & greets with pros, a 2v2 creator skirmish tournament, a gathering of the community through the Game Changers Collective (which welcomed South Korean Olympic sharpshooter Kim Ye-ji as a guest), and a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Grammy-nominated KATSEYE celebrating the event and women in esports.
It was also a year of experimentation and evolution for the VCT, with several new products and initiatives aimed at making our sport more accessible, engaging, and exciting to watch.
First, we expanded Pick’Ems to all global events, including Game Changers Championship, across both web and client. Engagement reached record highs, with Game Changers surpassing 2M users, second only to Champions Paris. It was also the first time players achieved perfect picks: 67 players to be exact, each rewarded with the rare “100%” title. At Champions, Brazilians dominated factions, with TcK10 finishing first and Sacy second.
Starting at Masters Toronto we launched match highlights: ~10-minute videos featuring the most exciting and important parts of global-event matches. They’re a great way to stay caught up if you can’t watch live or the event isn’t in your timezone.
At Champions Paris we debuted a brand new broadcast HUD — arguably one of the most important parts of the VCT viewing experience, since we spend roughly 90% of airtime in-game. The new HUD introduced a fresh but familiar look, streamlined visual design, clearer cues across the board, and new features such as an updated round timeline, scoreboard, and a new clutch (1v1) HUD. Your feedback was and continues to be appreciated.
We also launched Shotcall: a new experience that lets you make live predictions during matches, earning points that reward you with in-game goods. The product is still in beta, but your engagement showed it has huge potential to make watching even more interesting and interactive.
And last but not least, we introduced the new Champions Pendant, a beautiful gold, sterling-silver, and diamond piece celebrating the massive achievements of players and head coaches who become VALORANT World Champions.
We’ll continue to experiment, innovate, and count on your feedback to let us know what’s working and what isn’t.
It was also a tremendous year for esports digital goods in VALORANT. Thanks to players who showed up in droves to support the VCT and their favorite teams, Riot is sharing $105.2M with VCT teams in 2025, with over $86M coming from digital goods alone. That’s an incredibly large number, well above expectations, making 2025 a uniquely strong year for the VCT.
We’re also excited to begin opening up the ecosystem next year and giving more teams access to these resources. Non-partner teams qualifying to Champions will get access to a Champions competitive share, which in recent years has surpassed $500,000, with an additional $1.2M in stipends dedicated to all non-partner teams qualifying to Stage 2 playoffs ($75,000 per team).
Between the season capsule, team capsules, and the Champions collection, we have a strong portfolio that lets players express their fandom and be part of the biggest moments of our sport. Your engagement gives us confidence to continue investing in and building a sustainable future for the VCT.
All these items will return next year, including a new collection of classic skins for team capsules. I’m also excited to share that we’re cooking up a new plan for digital goods in 2027. Something new… maybe not so classic.
2026 is a big year for us, not just because we have an exciting season and incredible experiences planned, but because it sets the stage for a new era of the VCT starting in 2027.
First and foremost, we’ve taken concrete steps to open up the VCT and reignite the dream in VALORANT. Starting in 2026, we’re creating a new Path to Champions that allows non-partner teams to join the hunt during Stage 2 and fight for a spot at Champions Shanghai. This will be the first time a team can go from Premier to winning Champions in a single season.
We’re also going on the road. Coming together in person is one of the most powerful ways to connect with the community and celebrate everything we love about VALORANT. So we’re taking the final days of Stage 2 playoffs to new locations outside hub cities, creating more exciting moments and giving more players the chance to attend a live VALORANT event. In China, we’re taking the entire 2026 season on the road and visiting five different cities. Lots to be excited about! Stay tuned for our start-of-season dev diary in January for news on the locations.
We’re incredibly grateful for the first five years of VALORANT. We don’t take your engagement for granted and hope to continue creating a game and a sport worthy of your passion for many years to come.
From all of us at Riot, happy holidays!
