The 2023 season ended with a bang as Evil Geniuses took home the Valorant Champions trophy and marked the second year in a row that an Americas team has been named world champion. Riot Games has made some big changes since the 2023 circuit ended, adding in VCT China and tweaking the international leagues’ schedules slightly.
Instead of having a kickoff tournament featuring every team in the VCT league ecosystem, each VCT league is going to hold its own event. The top two teams from each 11-team league will then travel to Masters Madrid for the first major tournament of the year.
LOUD won the VCT Americas Playoffs in 2023.
Below is everything we know so far about the VCT Americas kickoff tournament including where to watch, the teams participating, and the start date.
Contents
VCT Americas Kickoff: Stream
The VCT Americas Kickoff tournament will be streamed on the league’s Twitch and YouTube. We’ve embedded the Twitch stream below for your convenience.
VCT Americas Kickoff: Format
All 11 teams will be seeded and split into three groups, meaning one group will feature only three teams. The highest-placing team from Valorant Champions 2023, in VCT America’s case Evil Geniuses, will be placed in the group of three with a bye to the second round.
The remaining teams will be seeded based on 2023 performance and drawn into the remaining slots. The group stage will feature a double-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches. The top two teams from each group will move on to the next stage.
The second-place teams from each group will face off in a Play-In Stage and play each other once with the team with the best record moving on to the Playoff Stage with the top teams from each group.
The Playoff Stage will then crown two representatives for the league at Masters Madrid through a single elimination bracket.
VCT Americas Kickoff: Schedule
VCT Americas will take place from February 16 to March 3. All matches are being played in the same venue, the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, California.
The dates for each stage of the Kickoff can be found below:
- Group Stage: February 16-25
- Play-In: February 26
- Playoffs: March 2-3
VCT Americas Kickoff: Results
Group Stage: February 16-24
Group A
| Placement | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NRG Esports | 1-0 (26/18) |
| 4 | FURIA Esports | 0-1 (18/26) |
| – | Cloud9 | – |
| – | MIBR | – |
Group B
| Placement | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| – | LOUD | – |
| – | Sentinels | – |
| – | Leviatan | – |
| – | 100 Thieves | – |
Group C
| Placement | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| – | KRU Esports | – |
| – | G2 Esports | – |
| – | Evil Geniuses | – |
Day 1: February 16
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 1 | NRG 2-0 FURIA | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
| Group A Round 1 | Cloud9 vs MIBR | 5 PM | 8 PM | 12 AM |
Day 2: February 17
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group B Round 1 | LOUD vs Sentinels | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
| Group B Round 1 | Leviatan vs 100 Thieves | 5 PM | 8 PM | 12 AM |
Day 3: February 18
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group C Round 1 | KRU vs G2 | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
Day 4: February 19
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 1 Losers | TBD vs TBD | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
| Group B Round 1 Losers | TBD vs TBD | 5 PM | 8 PM | 12 AM |
Day 5: February 23
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 2 | TBD vs TBD | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
| Group B Round 2 | TBD vs TBD | 5 PM | 8 PM | 12 AM |
Day 6: February 24
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group C Round 2 | EG vs TBD | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
Day 7: February 25
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 2 Losers | TBD vs TBD | 12 PM | 3 PM | 8 PM |
| Group B Round 2 Losers | TBD vs TBD | 3 PM | 6 PM | 11 PM |
| Group C Roud 2 Losers | TBD vs TBD | 6 PM | 9 PM | 1 AM |
Play-In: February 26
Day 8: February 26
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play-ins | TBD vs TBD | 12 PM | 3 PM | 8 PM |
| Play-ins | TBD vs TBD | 3 PM | 6 PM | 11 PM |
| Play-ins | TBD vs TBD | 6 PM | 9 PM | 1 AM |
Playoffs: March 2-3
Day 9: March 2
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semifinals | TBD vs TBD | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
| Semifinals | TBD vs TBD | 5 PM | 8 PM | 1 AM |
Day 10: March 2
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Finals | TBD vs TBD | 2 PM | 5 PM | 10 PM |
VCT Americas Kickoff: Teams
Team rosters are not final as the transfer window is still open, and some teams have yet to announce their full rosters. However, most of these teams have been practicing for months during the off-season and should be locked in for at least this tournament.
This event will also be the first to feature G2 Esports, who were promoted into the league via the Ascension tournament.
| Team | Players |
| 100 Thieves | Asuna, bang, Cryocells, eeiu, Boostio |
| Cloud9 | jakee, Xeppaa, OXY, vanity, wippie |
| Evil Geniuses | jawgemo, TBD, C0M, Screwface, TBD |
| FURIA Esports | Khalil, mwzera, kon4n, liazzi, havoc |
| KRÜ Esports | Melser, Shyy, mta, keznit, Klaus |
| Leviatán | kiNgg, Mazino, aspas, tex, TBD |
| LOUD | Less, Saadhak, cauanzin, tuyz, qck |
| MIBR | Jzz, frz, RgLM, Mazin, Artzin |
| NRG Esports | crashies, Victor, Demon1, Ethan, Marved |
| Sentinels | zekken, Sacy, TenZ, johnqt, pANcada |
| G2 Esports | JonahP, net, trent, valyn, leaf |