Riot Games is reshaping the VCT Pacific’s competitive ladder, opening new doors for APAC teams in 2026.
Riot Games have announced a major overhaul to the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Challengers ecosystem in Asia Pacific for 2026, introducing a direct qualification route to VCT Pacific Stage 2 and removing the Ascension system. The update marks a structural shift in how regional teams can reach the international stage and compete for a spot at Champions.
No more Ascension but teams can qualify for direct slots to Stage 2 Playoffs
From 2026 onwards, Challengers teams will no longer qualify through Ascension. Instead, top-performing teams from the regional leagues will directly advance to the International Leagues’ Stage 2 Playoffs, which feed into VALORANT Champions.
Each International League will allocate four slots to Challengers teams. For Asia Pacific, the slots will be distributed as follows:
- Challengers Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea will each send their top team directly to Stage 2 Playoffs.
- The fourth slot will be decided through a Last Chance Qualifier, featuring the best team from South Asia, Oceania, and the second and third seeds from Southeast Asia.
Teams that reach Stage 2 Playoffs will also receive a US$75,000 stipend, providing additional support for international competition.
Academy team changes
Academy teams will continue to participate in the Challengers leagues, but they will not be eligible to qualify for Stage 2 Playoffs. Riot will also remove relegation protection for Academy teams in 2026, meaning that any team finishing at the bottom of their Challengers league will need to requalify to retain their slot.
Regional formats for each league will be announced locally at a later date.
Southeast Asia Challengers revamp
Challengers Southeast Asia will undergo significant structural changes next year, adopting a tournament model that combines local events with pan-regional matches over two splits.
Teams will begin their journey through open qualifiers at the local level. Successful teams will then advance to local qualifying tournaments, which will also serve as the starting point for Southeast Asian Academy teams. The top two teams from each local qualifier will move on to the main Challengers Southeast Asia tournament, which will feature 12 teams per split.
This process will repeat for both splits in the 2026 season.
Local qualifiers and premier integration
Five local qualifying tournaments will launch across Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, with a fifth qualifier including all remaining Southeast Asian subregions.
Players will also have the opportunity to qualify through Premier, VALORANT’s in-game competitive pathway. Two Premier teams from each Episode will earn a spot in the corresponding Challengers Southeast Asia split, allowing players from any residency to climb through ranked competition.
Broadcast and accessibility
In response to feedback from teams and fans, Riot confirmed that streaming exclusivity will be lifted for Challengers Southeast Asia next year. The developer plans to collaborate with local partners to deliver local-language broadcasts across the region.
The changes aim to improve representation across Southeast Asia while maintaining a unified route toward international play under VCT Pacific. Riot Games stated that further details on each region’s Challengers structure and schedule will be released closer to the start of the 2026 season.
