StrafeStrafe Esports
VCT 2025: Format, Schedule, Teams and More

VCT 2025: Format, Schedule, Teams and More

Valorant

Ganesh Jadhav

27 Oct, 2024, 07:51

|

Last updated: 9 Apr, 2025, 02:36

VCT 2025 is on the horizon, starting 11 January 2025, 48 teams will participate in a year long competition vying to be crowned the VALORANT Champion.

The competition will feature small tweaks compared to the 2024 season, creating a better year-long experience for the players and audience alike.

Let’s deep dive into what the VCT 2025 season has to offer.

VCT 2025: Format and Schedule

Kicking Off

Similar to the previous year, the VCT 2025 will kick off with the regional Kickoffs. In contrast to the previous year’s three stage tournament, the VCT 2025 Kickoff will feature a single 12-team double–elimination bracket.

The teams will be seeded into the bracket as per their VCT 2024 performance. The top four teams of each region will skip the first stage. The Kickoff bracket will be as follows:

The VCT 2025 Kickoff bracket (credits: Riot Games // VALORANT Esports)
The VCT 2025 Kickoff bracket (credits: Riot Games // VALORANT Esports)

VALORANT Masters Bangkok

Only the top two teams from each region will qualify for the first VALORANT Masters event of the year hosted in Bangkok. The tournament will feature a total of 8 teams playing a double elimination bracket to win the trophy and additional championship points.

Stage 1

After a short break, the action resumes with VCT 2025 Stage 1 Regular season in the three leagues. During the regular season, the 12 teams will be divided into two groups of 6 and they will play in single round robin format.

4 teams from each group to make a total of 8 will play the Mid-season tournament in each league. Out of the eight teams playing only 3 qualify for the VALORANT Masters Toronto.

VALORANT Masters Toronto

The second Masters event of the year will follow the Masters Shanghai 2024 format, with a Swiss stage and an 8 team Playoff with the first seed from each region skipping the first stage of competition.

Stage 2

The Stage 2 of the international leagues are now disconnected from the competition, meaning a better Stage 1 performance doesn’t guarantee a direct ticket to Stage 2 Playoffs. Similar to Stage 1, best teams from the two groups will play the Stage 2 Playoffs to crown the international league champion.

Additionally, the top 2 teams from the Playoffs will qualify for VALORANT Champions 2025 hosted in Paris. 2 more teams with the most championship points will join the 2 teams qualified from the Playoffs to make a total of 4 teams from each region.

VALORANT Champions Paris

VALORANT Champions 2025 will follow the same format and feature a 16-team Group Stage and an 8 team Playoffs to crown the year’s champion.

The complete schedule for VCT 2025 is as follows:

  • [January 11th - February 7th] – International League Kickoffs
    • [January 11th] - VCT China
    • [January 15th] - VCT EMEA
    • [January 16th] - VCT Americas
    • [January 18th] - VCT Pacific
  • [February 20th - March 2nd] - Masters Bangkok
  • [March 22nd - April 25th] - International League Stage 1 Regular Season
  • [May 3rd to May 15] - International League Stage 1 Playoffs (Mid-season Playoffs)
  • [June 7th - June 22nd] - Masters Toronto
  • [July 12th - August 15th] - International League Stage 2 Regular Season
  • [August 16th - August 29th] - International League Stage 2 Playoffs
  • [September 12th - October 5th] - VALORANT Champions 2025
  • [November TBA] - Game Changers Championship

VCT 2025 Complete Schedule (credits: Riot Games // VALORANT Esports)
VCT 2025 Complete Schedule (credits: Riot Games // VALORANT Esports)

These format and scheduling changes not only increase the length of the season but also the number of game the team will play and provide optimal break in between the tournaments. Additionally championship points distribution was also shaken up ahead of the new season to ensure teams with deep international runs are rewarded better. You can read about the new changes here. 

VCT 2025 Teams

In addition to the 44 teams of 2024, VCT 2025 will add four teams qualified through Ascension to increase the tally of total teams to 48. These teams will compete throughout the year delivering intense action and breathtaking display of skill in order to lift the 2025 VALORANT Champion trophy.

These teams are:

All 48 VCT 2025 Teams (credits: Riot Games // VALORANT Esports)
All 48 VCT 2025 Teams (credits: Riot Games // VALORANT Esports)

With three international tournaments, four regions and 48 international teams, VCT 2025 will aim to break all the previous records.

 

Check out Strafe Esports for all the latest VALORANT news and our X account for the latest content and coverages. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

For more VALORANT rostermania news, check out our VCT EMEA and VCT Americas rostermania for all the latest shuffles.

Featured Image Credits: Riot Games // VALORANT esports

Read More: 

VALORANT Patch 9.10 Agent Changes and Their Impact on the Meta

VALORANT Patch 9.10 introduces Phantom Buffs and major gameplay updates

Latest news

Dplus KIA to be Sold Amid Financial Turbulence

Dplus KIA to be Sold Amid Financial Turbulence

Dplus KIA have announced the organization is in the middle of a sale process as the club has "reached a point where it needs even greater capability and support to grow to the next level." Growing operational costs in esports and recent reports surfacing regarding unpaid wages at Dplus all seem to indicate that the move will be in the best interest of everyone involved, including players and fans of the organization.
16 Jul
Martin Arévalo-Östberg

Team Vitality CEO Neo: "For Us to be a Global Leader Means Being a Contender at EWC"

Team Vitality remains one of the most influential and well-known esports organizations to date. The Paris-based org fields over 20 esports teams in various esports, though their immensely impressive results in Counter-Strike take center stage.  Being one of the organizations present at Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, we managed to speak with Fabien "Neo" Devide, Co-Founder and CEO of the Hive, just after an interview with Mike McCabe, COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, at the opening press conference at EWC. Neo provided a ton of insight into the organization's participation at this year's edition of EWC in Paris. He expressed his desire for the org to perform to the highest standards, but also highlighted that rivalry is key to grow the ecosystem. Additionally, Neo gave strong opinions on the growth of mobile esports following last year's Vitality's takeover and merger with Indonesian side Bigetron, stressing the need for innovation and following ideas in the east, as much as the west.
15 Jul
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski

VALORANT Declares War on Boosting and Smurfing

Riot Games is done playing nice with rank manipulators. Starting with Patch 13.01, the studio is rolling out sharper detection tools built to catch boosting, win-trading, and stream sniping, and this time the punishments are landing on everyone involved, not just the person paying for the service.
14 Jul
Thales Costa

Mike McCabe COO of EWC Foundation: "The Home Is Always Going to Be Riyadh"

The Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC) had its grand launch on July 8, commemorating the official start of the event with an opening press conference at the Hotel de Ville in the heart of Paris. With many speakers kicking off the event, like the CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, Ralf Reichert, Emmanuel Grégoire, the mayor of Paris, and others, taking center stage.  Following an opening ceremony with multiple speakers, media were given the opportunity to chat with representatives of the Esports World Cup Foundation, game publishers, or even reps of prolific esports organizations such as Team Vitality. We managed to speak with Mike McCabe, the COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.
14 Jul
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski

VALORANT Patch 13.01: Iso and Yoru Buffs, Outlaw Nerf and More

Riot Games has rolled out VALORANT Patch 13.01, and while it's not the biggest update of the year, it brings meaningful quality-of-life buffs, a notable nerf, and a major crackdown on competitive integrity. Here's everything you need to know.
14 Jul
Kaustavmani Choudhury

Riot Games Brings Local Flair to VCT EMEA With Mushkaa Collab

Riot Games has confirmed a fresh collaboration that's about to give one of VALORANT's most iconic anthems a distinctly local twist. Ahead of the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Finals in Barcelona, the publisher has teamed up with rising Spanish artist Mushkaa to remix Villain (Take the Shot), one of the game's biggest musical hits.
13 Jul
Thales Costa

100 Thieves Claim First-Ever International VALORANT Title at Esports World Cup

100 Thieves have been crowned champions of the VALORANT Esports World Cup 2026, defeating regional rivals NRG in a tense five-map grand final. The win marks a defining moment for the organization, delivering their first-ever international trophy after years of near-misses and missed qualifications.
12 Jul
Kaustavmani Choudhury

Comments (0)

Log in to comment on this match