Valorant Champions 2026: LOUD reaches the grand final in Shanghai, and 100 Thieves face Team Vitality next

Valorant Champions 2026 is down to three teams. LOUD beat Team Vitality 2-1 in the upper bracket final on Friday, Oct. 16, and waits in the grand final in Shanghai. 100 Thieves stayed alive the same day, and Vitality gets one more shot on Saturday.

The grand final is Sunday, Oct. 18, at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, best of five, with a new agent revealed on the broadcast right before it.

Valorant Champions 2026 finals weekend schedule

Riot’s finals weekend runs from Oct. 16 to Oct. 18. Matches are played in the afternoon in Shanghai, which means the middle of the night in the US.

Saturday, Oct. 17: the lower bracket final, Team Vitality vs. 100 Thieves, best of five, at 3 p.m. in Shanghai, 3 a.m. ET and midnight PT on Friday night. The loser finishes third. Pros, creators and guests also play a showmatch on the Champions stage on Oct. 17, with TenZ and Karry Wang as captains.

Sunday, Oct. 18: the grand final, LOUD vs. the lower bracket winner, best of five, at 2 p.m. in Shanghai, 2 a.m. ET and 11 p.m. PT on Saturday night. The Opening Ceremony starts right before the teams walk out, and the tournament MVP is named after the final.

Champions 2026 results so far

The playoffs are double elimination, so a team is out after two losses. Here’s how the eight playoff teams got here.

In the upper quarterfinals on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, NRG beat T1 2-0, LOUD beat Paper Rex 2-0, G2 Esports beat 100 Thieves 2-0 and Team Vitality beat Nongshim RedForce 2-1. On Oct. 9, the first lower bracket round knocked out Paper Rex, who lost 2-1 to T1, and Nongshim RedForce, who lost 2-1 to 100 Thieves.

The upper semifinals on Oct. 10 went to LOUD, 2-1 over NRG, and Vitality, 2-0 over G2. On Oct. 11, 100 Thieves beat NRG 2-0 and G2 beat T1 2-1, which sent NRG and T1 home.

After four days off, finals weekend opened on Friday, Oct. 16. LOUD beat Vitality 2-1 for a grand final spot, and 100 Thieves beat G2 Esports 2-1 in a rematch of their Oct. 8 series, which G2 had won 2-0. G2 Esports finishes fourth.

How Champions Shanghai got down to four

Champions 2026 started on Sept. 24 with 16 teams, four each from the Americas, EMEA, Pacific and China leagues. Each of the four groups had one team from every region, and two losses meant elimination.

Eight teams went out in the groups: Team Liquid, TYLOO, Xi Lai Gaming, Karmine Corp, Global Esports, EDward Gaming, FUT Esports and JD Gaming. All group and playoff matches before finals weekend were best of three.

New agent reveal and what else happens in Shanghai

Riot is saving a surprise for the last day. A new agent joins the Valorant roster with a live reveal on the broadcast before the grand final on Oct. 18. Riot hasn’t named the agent or said when it comes to the game.

Shanghai is also hosting fan events through the weekend, including a Champions Fan Fest and a Valorant concept gaming café made with Balenciaga. Viewers can earn Drops, including a special title, by watching the official broadcast, and Riot’s Pick’Ems let fans lock in predictions.

VCT 2027: more than 50 tournaments and open qualifiers

Riot announced on Oct. 15 how the Valorant Champions Tour changes next year, and its pitch fits in four words: “Everything is a tournament.” The 2027 season is built around Opens, Kickoff, Cups, Masters and Champions, with more than 50 tournaments in place of long stretches of league play.

Partner teams stay, but after Kickoff, Riot says advancement comes down to results. Open teams can qualify throughout the season, starting with regional Opens that feed into Cups and global events, and qualifying open teams get guaranteed payments. The tour stops in 15 cities, the Game Changers finale moves to Champions, and a new esports bundle swaps the Classic for the Ghost.

The 2027 season starts this year. Kickoff Qualifiers begin in November 2026. In North America, Qualifier #1 runs Nov. 5 to 8 and Qualifier #2 Nov. 12 to 15, with registration for the first opening on Oct. 19 at 12 p.m. PT. Players must be at least 17 and have reached Ascendant in the past six months. The winner earns a spot at the 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff in São Paulo and at Red Bull Home Ground in Los Angeles, Dec. 10 to 13.

Before that, the Game Changers Championship runs from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1. For Riot’s other world championship, see our League of Legends Worlds 2026 schedule and results.

This page is updated as soon as each Champions 2026 match ends, and again when Riot reveals the new agent on Oct. 18.