Riot has unveiled its six locations for its multi-city tour for the 2026 VCT China season.

The year will begin in Guangzhou with China Kickoff, with the all-new triple-elimination format set to decide the region's three representatives for Masters Santiago.

Regional play will resume with the group stage of Stage 1 hosted in Hangzhou. The top four teams of each group will then hit the road, heading to Beijing for the playoffs. The top three teams will, of course, qualify for Masters London.

Stage 2 will see the league head back to the southern part of the country in Changsha. The playoffs will then head to Chengdu, the westernmost city on the list of cities for the year, for the playoffs. In 2026, VCT's new format will include four tier two teams as part of a play-in stage, giving Challengers teams the chance to qualify for Champions 2026. The top two teams at the end of the Stage 2 playoffs will automatically qualify to Champions Shanghai, with the remaining two spots decided by the top two teams in the Championship Point standings.

Riot also shared that, after Champions, an unnamed invitational event will be held.

The full 2026 schedule with cities are as follows:

  • China Kickoff: Guangzhou
  • China Stage 1 group stage: Hangzhou
  • China Stage 1 playoffs: Beijing
  • China Stage 2 group stage: Changsha
  • China Stage 2 playoffs: Chengdu
  • Champions 2026: Shanghai
  • Unnamed invitational: To be announced