Riot reveals brand new Valorant Challenger and Game Changer events

The Valorant esports ecosystem will see huge changes in 2026 with new events for both Challenger and Game Changers teams.

Women and marginalised genders will have more opportunities to compete with Cash Cups and regional events added to the Game Changers calendar.

And with Ascension cancelled, Riot is overhauling the Challenger ecosystem, including the addition of a new event called Valorant EMEA Clash.

VCT EMEA and EMEA Challenger teams will play each other in Valorant EMEA Clash

Riot Games had previously announced the new triple elimination format for VCT EMEA Kickoff, the first event of 2026.

Now, it has been revealed that the event will not only lead into Valorant Masters Santiago but also to a new tournament called Clash.

The regional Challenger leagues, the division below VCT EMEA, will take place at the same time as Kick Off.

Then, the top Challenger teams will qualify for Valorant EMEA Clash alongside the VCT EMEA teams that don’t qualify for Masters Santiago.

Clash will take place from February 16th to 24th to fill in the break before the international tournament begins in Chile.

This new event will be the first time VCT and Challengers teams meet in the year, bringing fresh match-ups and a look at upcoming talent for VCT fans.

It appears Riot Games is keen on introducing more opportunities for Tier 1 and 2 teams to face off with LEC Versus 2026 achieving the same in League of Legends.

Valorant Challengers EMEA events 2026

The Challengers Leagues will still maintain a format which is separated into three different stages.

And the top teams from each regional league will still get the chance to compete in up to three different Challengers events:

• Challengers EMEA Stage 1: March 16th – 31st
• Challengers EMEA Stage 2: May 18th – 28th
• Challengers EMEA Stage 3: June 22nd – July 6th

Before Challengers EMEA 1 and 2, each league will host an additional Qualifier Tournament first.

Each region’s top two teams and the top four from NORTH/EAST will qualify for each Challengers EMEA event, meaning each tournament will feature 14 teams.

However, qualification for Challengers EMEA 3 will be different as it offers teams a way into VCT EMEA Stage 2.

The eight best-performing teams from the Regional Challenger Leagues will qualify.

There will be two slots from NORTH/EAST, two from MENA Resilience, one from France Revolution, one from DACH Evolution, one from Spain Rising, and one from Türkiye Birlik.

Then, another eight slots will be filled by the teams that have racked up the most points on the Challengers circuit.

From there, 16 teams will compete at Challengers EMEA 3 with four spots at the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-Ins on the line.

How will Ascension into VCT EMEA work in 2026?

As mentioned earlier, there will not be an Ascension tournament in 2026 that decides which Challenger team will get a guest slot in VCT EMEA the following year.

Instead, Challenger teams will compete with two ways to grab one of the four allocated slots into the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-Ins in 2026.

The top three teams from Challengers EMEA 3 will automatically qualify for said Play-Ins.

Then, the fourth and final spot will be decided in a Last Chance Qualifier, which will feature what Riot describes as an “unforgiving bracket.”

Those four qualified teams will then compete with VCT EMEA teams for a way into the Stage 2 Playoffs, where spots at Valorant Champions Shanghai 2026 will be on the line.

Riot confirms new events for Valorant Game Changers 2026 in EMEA

Game Changers will look a bit different in 2026, especially now that G2 legend Petra has retired from Valorant esports.

The Game Changers EMEA format will remain mostly the same as 2025, with a Kickoff event and three Stages with 10 teams competing in each.

However, these events will be complemented by a new Game Changers EMEA Circuit revealed by Riot Games.

The circuit will be made up of regional tournaments and all-new Cash Cups, which will provide teams more chances to compete, earn points, and improve their ranking.

The Cash Cups will be fast, monthly tournaments with prize pools which will be online-only to make participation easier.

These Cash Cups will be open to all Game Changers teams, including regional GC teams and GC EMEA teams, but participation is optional.

Similar to Challengers EMEA 3, Cash Cups will offer teams an opportunity to be promoted into the Game Changers EMEA 3 Play-Ins and potentially onto the Game Changers Championship.

Plus, the top teams from across all the Regional Challenger Leagues can also qualify for the Promotion/Relegation tournaments in Game Changers EMEA.

The 2026 season has two events scheduled for next year, so regional teams will have two chances to earn promotion into the top division.