On October 28, Riot Games unveiled the tournament structure and support policies for the 2027 VCT (VALORANT Champions Tour) Pacific. The publisher selected eight partner teams while establishing fixed financial support and tournament qualification opportunities for non-partner teams.
Financial support will be provided to non-partner teams based on the tournaments in which they compete. Support amounts to $100,000 USD (approximately 130 million won) per event for Kickoff and Cups, $200,000 USD (approximately 260 million won) for Masters, and $400,000 USD (approximately 520 million won) for Champions. Partner teams will continue to receive revenue sharing from digital product sales as before.
Pacific, VALORANT's international league for the Asia-Pacific region, will once again kick off its annual tournament circuit in 2027 with Kickoff. For Kickoff in January 2027, the eight partner teams will receive direct seeded spots, while the remaining four spots will go to teams advancing through regional open qualifiers and playoffs.
A total of 12 teams will participate in Cups. Regional allocation includes three teams each from South Korea and Japan, and two teams from Southeast Asia. Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam will each receive one allocated spot, while one team will advance through the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) representing the remaining regions. Even if all partner teams from a region advance to Cups, spots for non-partner teams will remain guaranteed.
Open qualifiers will be held across multiple rounds. Teams passing the first qualifier will compete in play-ins and playoffs to challenge for a Kickoff spot. In subsequent open qualifiers, top-performing teams can advance directly to playoffs, and teams eliminated in the first qualifier can re-enter. Top teams that miss out on first place in the Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam playoffs will aim for Cup qualification through the Last Chance Qualifier.
The list of partner teams released on the 23rd includes South Korea's T1 and Gen.G (GEN), alongside Paper Rex (PRX), ZETA DIVISION (ZETA), FULL SENSE (FS), Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ), Japan's Crazy Raccoon (CR), and Vietnam's GAM Esports (GAM). Riot Games explained that it selected the eight teams after evaluating applications over several months.
The selected partner teams will participate in the VCT through at least 2028. Riot Games previously announced a two-year partnership renewal cycle.
The official schedule for 2027 VCT Pacific will begin in November. Registration for regional open qualifiers is set to open soon, with specific dates and formats to be announced later.
