VALORANT Champions 2026 will be held in Shanghai; Champions 2027 planned for Americas

Riot Games have officially announced that the VALORANT Champions 2026 will be held in Shanghai, China.

This will be the second international VCT event to be hosted in Shanghai. In 2024, VCT 2024 - Masters Shanghai had record setting viewership with a packed Mercedes-Benz Arena, something Riot is eager to bring back.

In 2024, EDward Gaming were the ones to lift the VCT 2024 - Champions 2024 trophy in Seoul, while Wolves Esports stole the hearts of the fans at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025. With the rise of multiple Chinese teams on the international stage, the spotlight continues to shift toward the region.

Champions coming to Americas 2027

As a part of the announcement, Riot also expressed their long-term goal to bring VALORANT’s biggest event to each of the major regions. Therefore, Champions 2027 will be hosted in the Americas. However, as of right now the exact location of the event is unknown. We are likely to get an announcement of the precise location towards the end of 2026.

As for the location of the two Masters events to be held in 2026, it seems like we'll need to wait a bit longer. It's possible that we will receive more details on those soon, especially as this year's Champions Paris is fast approaching. However, seeing as Champions will be held in China next year, it is likely that the Masters events will be held in EMEA, Americas, and or Pacific, with the VCT 2026 culminating in China.

Rising interest in China

Champions 2026 being held in China may come as a welcome surprise for the region, which has a growing interest in VALORANT. It was not long ago that VALORANT Mobile surpassed 40 million pre-registrations in China —in just two months.