"VALORANT might actually be the healthiest esport in the world right now" - Leo Faria on Challenger teams potentially making Champs 2026

VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions turned out to be a phenomenal event, with NRG clinching the world title in the grand finale against EMEA's Fnatic. The event, despite focused largely on the competitive environment, featured a Fan Fest zone, where a ton of activations and stands were present to add to the experience.

THESPIKE successfully managed to make it into the Fan Fest to witness a panel with heads of Riot Games that focus primarily on VALORANT. One of them was Leo Faria, the Global Head of VALORANT Esports. While the panel featured many angles and answered a lot of questions raised by the community, one of the leading topics were changes to VCT 2026; primarily, how the VALORANT Challenger teams will have a shot at qualifying to next year's Champions, which will be held in Shanghai, China.

Breaking beyond the 48 partnered teams

With how it is designed, the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) esports structure is not an easy one to handle. The top-level partnered teams of the VCT have a generally easier time thriving in the VALORANT esports landscape with grants and generous prize money to be won as part of the Stage 1, Stage 2, Masters, and Champions (if qualified for) events. Meanwhile, esports organizations that are un-partnered are part of the Challenger Leagues, the tier 2 of the ecosystem. Thriving in that environment is generally tricky as the goal of those teams is to win Ascension in their respective regions to qualify for the VCT in the following year; a task so humongous that chances of doing so are miniscule.

However, starting from the 2026 VCT season, Challenger teams will have a shot at qualifying for VALORANT Champions. In the short history of VALORANT esports, this was not possible before.

"I think at the end of the day what we realized is VALORANT is a very healthy sport. It might actually be the healthiest esport in the world right now. Last year we shared almost $80 million Dollars with teams. Thanks to all of you and your support and for you buying team capsules we’re sharing a lot more than $80 million Dollars to teams this year. But the reality is all of these resources were concentrated on 48 teams and what we’re doing is giving more teams the opportunity to have access [by giving them a chance to qualify for Champions]."

I think at the end of the day what we realized is VALORANT is a very healthy sport. It might actually be the healthiest esport in the world right now.

Slotting Challenger teams into Stage 2 playoffs

Naturally, a common question quickly arose around how eligible Challenger teams will be a part of the Stage 2 Playoffs. Some debated that they will be put into the lower bracket where they'll be instantly shoved against the wall in a do-or-die situation. Leo denies those claims, yet has not revealed exactly how the Challenger teams will be slotted into the bracket. Instead, he claims that they are working on a "creative and exciting format."

"At the end of the day, if you wanna be among the best, you have to beat the best. That’s why they (Challenger teams) are joining the [Stage 2] playoffs. We wanna give them a fair shot. I saw some debate online of folks saying, “are Challenger teams going to join the lower bracket and have one life, lose one match and you’re out?” The answer is no, we want to give them a fair shot. But again, you still have to beat the best teams in the world to make it to Champs," said Leo.

When asked about how the teams will be slotted into the event he safely said, "We'll share the exact details later. We have what we think is a creative and exciting format but we'll share it later this year."

But again, you still have to beat the best teams in the world to make it to Champs.

Making Challengers a more worthwhile investment

The idea of Challenger teams potentially qualifying to the most elusive VALORANT tourney of the year definitely ups the enticement factor for organizations to pursue a solid run throughout the season. While the exact details are still to surface, it seems like VCT 2026 will be even a more exciting season for VALORANT fans.

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Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games