Riot Names Its 32 VCT 2027 Partners, Eight in Each Territory
GAME MODE Staff·Oct 31, 2026· 2m read
Partners get direct entry to Kickoff 2027 on two-year renewable deals. Cloud9, FURIA and Evil Geniuses are among the 2026 league teams not on the list.
Thirty-two organizations will be VALORANT Champions Tour partners in 2027. Riot introduced them on Thursday, October 22: eight in each of the Americas, EMEA, Pacific and China, on two-year renewable partnerships that come with direct entry to VCT Kickoff 2027.
Kickoff is as far as that guarantee goes. After it, partners compete alongside teams from Open Qualifiers, and results are the only way into Cups, Masters and Champions.
The 2027 partners by territory
| Territory | Partner teams |
|---|---|
| Americas | 100 Thieves, G2 Esports, KRÜ Visa, Leviatán Esports, LOUD, MIBR, NRG, Sentinels |
| EMEA | BBL Esports, FNATIC, FUT Esports, Gentle Mates, Karmine Corp, Team Heretics, Team Liquid, Team Vitality |
| Pacific | Crazy Raccoon, FULL SENSE, GAM Esports, Gen.G, Paper Rex, Rex Regum Qeon, T1, ZETA DIVISION |
| China | ALL GAMERS, Bilibili Gaming, EDWARD Gaming, JD GAMING, Trace Esports, TYLOO GAMING, Weibo Gaming, Xi Lai Gaming |
Weibo Gaming, Crazy Raccoon and GAM Esports are 2027 partners but don’t appear in Riot’s 2026 Championship Points standings for the four VCT leagues.
How Riot picked them
More than 100 teams submitted interest, and global and regional esports leads interviewed the finalists. Riot judged them on five criteria:
- Commitment to growing the VALORANT community
- Community resonance across fandom and content
- Business sustainability and responsible operations
- Operational excellence and infrastructure
- Competitive success and performance development
Partners get annual financial support and revenue from in-game goods such as Team and Season Capsules and the Championship bundle. Riot’s partner-teams page lists the 2027 Team Capsules as coming soon, and Kickoff 2027 runs from January 14 to February 7 in São Paulo, Berlin, Bangkok and Hangzhou.
Which 2026 league teams aren’t on the list?
Nineteen teams in Riot’s 2026 Championship Points standings for the four leagues are not among the 2027 partners:
- VCT Americas: FURIA, ENVY, Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses
- VCT EMEA: Eternal Fire, NAVI, GIANTX and PCIFIC Esports
- VCT Pacific: NONGSHIM REDFORCE, GLOBAL ESPORTS, VARREL, DetonatioN FocusMe, Kiwoom DRX and Team Secret
- VCT CN: NOVA ESPORTS, DRAGON RANGER GAMING, FunPlus Phoenix, TITAN ESPORTS CLUB and WOLVES ESPORTS
Separately, Evil Geniuses says it will cease competitive and day-to-day operations effective Monday, November 2, after more than 25 years. EG cites constrained sponsorship and investment and the rising cost of competing at the top level, and says it will wind down in an orderly fashion with affected players, coaches and staff.
EG’s statement doesn’t mention VCT, and it doesn’t say what happens to the brand or its rosters after November 2.
