All the VCT Partner teams for the 2027-2028 cycle

Confirmed teams

Rejected teams

VCT Pacific

As expected, Paper Rex and T1 earned a slot, as they are among the most influential organisations in the Pacific ecosystem. Crazy Raccoon is the biggest surprise on the list, as the Japanese organisation left the Valorant ecosystem in 2021 after participating in VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021 and VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík.

Surprisingly, Riot excluded teams like Nongshim RedForce, Global Esports, and KIWOOM DRX, which already had a foothold in the ecosystem. This shows how rigorous the new evaluation system is and how much Riot cares about which team gets selected. GAM Esports will finally make their debut on VALORANT. The Vietnamese organization which is very famous on League of Legends has decided to take this partnership system rebuild as an opportunity to jump into the ecosystem.

VCT EMEA

As expected, Fnatic and Gentle Mates secured their partnership slots because of their large fanbases and historical precedent in the League. The biggest surprise is that KOI got rejected, suggesting that what went wrong the last time we saw them compete in VALORANT is still shaping the current landscape. VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai Finalists Team Vitality have also been confirmed as partner team. Almost all the teams we already had are staying as there aren't new faces among the partnered teams. Natus Vincere is not going to be have a partnership after four years as a VCT partner, however the organization will still focus on it's academy project Na'Vi Junior.

VCT Americas

Americas has the most organisations competing for a slot, which’s why many big names got rejected. Cloud9, FURIA, FlyQuest, and Shopify Rebellion are all big names that also compete in League of Legends and were rejected because of the high level of competition. Many organisations already competing in the current Americas ecosystem have been confirmed, including G2 Esports, Leviatán, Sentinels, and MIBR. Same history as EMEA, there are no new faces, just old names being taken out.

VCT China

EDward Gaming, the former World Champions, are still here after securing a partnership, along with JD Gaming, TYLOO, and many other orgs. New and old faces are returning to the circuit, as Weibo Gaming returns after re-entering VALORANT in the early phases of this year.

FunPlus Phoenix and Wolves Esports have surprisingly lost their partner status as the total number of teams has dropped from ten to eight.

For all things VCT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

Featured Image Credit: Riot Games