Riot Games announced that it will host VALORANT Champions Shanghai, the final stage of the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), in Shanghai, China, from September 24 to October 18. Four Pacific region teams—Global Esports (GE), Nongshim RedForce (NS), Paper Rex (PRX), and T1—will compete to secure the region's first-ever Champions title.
The tournament will be held at Jing'an Sports Center and Mercedes-Benz Arena, with the grand final taking place at Mercedes-Benz Arena on October 18. VALORANT is a 5v5 character-based PC tactical shooter developed and published by Riot Games.
Pacific is the only one among the four VCT regions that has yet to win a Champions title. Although the region won four consecutive Masters titles from Shanghai in 2024 to Santiago in 2026, its Champions record remains limited to one runner-up finish and two third-place finishes.
2026 VCT Pacific Stage 2 champion and #1 seed GE, alongside runner-up Nongshim RedForce, will both be making their Champions debuts. GE has operated an aggressive playstyle centered around Pacific Finals MVP UdoTan (Go Gyeong-won) and PatMen (Patrick Mendoza). Nongshim RedForce featured strong performances from players including Francis (Kim Mu-bin) and Rb (Goo Sang-min), and won Masters Santiago in their first-ever Masters appearance since the team was formed.
Internationally experienced teams PRX and T1 will also represent Pacific. PRX was the runner-up at Champions Los Angeles 2023, while T1 previously claimed victory at Masters Bangkok. PRX's f0rsakeN (Jason Susanto) and T1's stax (Kim Gu-taek) will lead in-game operations for their respective teams.
From other regions, top contenders include EMEA #1 seed Karmine Corp (KC), CN region's EDward Gaming (EDG), and Americas' NRG Esports (NRG). KC's N4RRATE (Marshall Massey) posted a First Blood Success Rate (FBSR) of 56%. CN #3 seed EDG was the champion of Champions Seoul 2024, where ZmjjKK (Zheng Yongkang) demonstrated notable strength with the Operator and high Average Combat Score (ACS).
NRG, who completed an undefeated championship run at Champions Paris 2025, will attempt to earn the tournament's first-ever back-to-back title. Their roster includes brawk (Brock Somerhalder), who was Finals MVP in Paris, and Ethan (Ethan Arnold), who won Champions Los Angeles in 2023 with Evil Geniuses (EG). No team has won consecutive Champions titles since the tournament was first held in 2021.
The group stage features four groups with four teams each. Group A consists of T1, 100 Thieves (100T), JD Gaming (JDG), and FUT Esports (FUT). Group B features GE, Team Vitality (VIT), LOUD (LOUD), and EDG. Group C comprises PRX, TYLOO (TYL), G2 Esports (G2), and Team Liquid (TL), while Group D includes Nongshim RedForce, KC, Xi Lai Gaming (XLG), and NRG.
