The 2024 Valorant esports season will start with a kickoff tournament in all four international leagues with the top two teams from each qualifying for the first international event of the year, Masters Madrid. Here is all the info we know so far about the VCT EMEA Kickoff tournament.
The 2023 season ended with a bang as Evil Geniuses took home the Valorant Champions trophy after Fnatic dominated the first part of the year winning VCT LOCK//IN and Masters Tokyo. Riot Games has made some big changes since the 2023 circuit ended, adding in VCT China and tweaking the international leagues’ schedules slightly.
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Instead of having a kickoff tournament featuring every team in the VCT league ecosystem, each VCT league is going to hold its own kickoff tournaments. The top two teams from each 11-team league will then travel to Masters Madrid for the first major tournament of the year.
The 2023 VCT EMEA trophy.
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 EMEA Kickoff: Stream
The VCT EMEA Kickoff tournament will be streamed on the league’s Twitch and YouTube. We’ve embedded the Twitch stream below for your convenience.
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VCT EMEA 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 EMEA’s case Paper Rex, 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.
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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 EMEA Kickoff: Schedule
VCT EMEA will start the Kickoff tournament on February 20 and end on March 1 with the Grand Final matchup. The schedule is as follows:
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- Group Stage: February 20 – 25
- Play-In Stage: February 26
- Playoffs Stage: February 29 – March 1
Details around the exact scheduling of matches have not been released. What that information becomes available it will be added.
VCT EMEA Kickoff: Results
Group Stage: February 20-25
Group A
Group B
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Group C
Day 1: February 20
Day 2: February 21
Day 3: February 22
Day 4: February 23
Day 5: February 24
Day 6: February 25
Play-In: February 26
Day 7: February 26
Playoffs: February 29 – March 1
Day 8: February 29
Day 8: March 1
VCT EMEA 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.
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This event will also be the first to feature Gentle Mates, who were promoted into the league via the Ascension tournament.
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