Riot has announced that the Valorant Champions Tour's four regions will hold their Stage 2 playoffs in new locations this upcoming season.

VCT China's multi-city, tour-like schedule was previously shared to hold the Stage 2 playoffs in Chengdu, while the group stage would be held in Changsha. Titan Esports Club Titan Esports Club China Rank #15 Haodong Guo Haodong (郭浩东) lucas Yunkun Lu (路昀昆) Abo Han Bohao (韩博皓) Coco Ding Dajian (丁达建) , based in Changsha, will be looking to play hosts in the playoffs, but has work to do. The team has qualified for the playoffs of a stage just once in the franchising era, and has yet to do so in a Stage 2.

VCT EMEA will step outside of Berlin for the first time with the playoffs set to take place in Madrid. This marks the first time VCT returns to Madrid and Spain since the 2024 season, when it hosted the first Masters event of that year. Spanish org Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #5 Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish ComeBack Berkcan Şentürk Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius will look to capture some magic as the home-crowd favorites. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, the team has never missed out on the playoffs of a regular-season stage. In the Stage 2 playoffs, the team will be looking to qualify for their third-straight Champions event, as well as look to capture their first regional title after three runner-up finishes in the past two seasons.

VCT Americas will head to South America for the final weeks of its regional play when it heads to São Paulo. This event will mark the city's first VCT event since 2023 when it hosted LOCK//IN, the maiden event of VCT's partnership era. Brazilian orgs MIBR MIBR Brazil Rank #1 zekken Zachary Patrone tex Ian Botsch Mazino Roberto Rivas Verno Andrew Maust aspas Erick Santos , LOUD LOUD Brazil Rank #7 lukxo Lucca Travaioli Darker Sebastián Castro Cicuamia Virtyy Leandro Moreno pANcada Bryan Luna cauanzin Cauan Pereira , and FURIA FURIA Brazil Rank #28 nerve Michael Yerrow artzin Arthur Araujo eeiu Daniel Vucenovic koalanoob Gianfranco Potestio alym Torogul Baidyldaev will be looking to capture the home-crowd advantage, with North American powerhouses far from home. Led by star Duelist aspas , a star-studded MIBR will look to capture its first regional title following a breakout 2025. Meanwhile, LOUD and FURIA will need to bounce back in a big way. The two orgs failed to qualify for the playoffs of either stage last year, and will play for the chance at redemption and playing on home soil through the Stage 2 group stage.

And finally, VCT Pacific will stay in Korea but head to the Southeastern port city of Busan for its Stage 2 playoffs. This will be Busan's first time hosting a VCT event, and the first time it hosts a Valorant event since the TEN VALORANT Asia Invitational in 2024. While the likes of T1 T1 Korea Rank #3 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) , Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #2 Lakia Kim Jong-min (김종민) ZynX Kim Dong-ha (김동하) Ash Ha Hyun-cheol (하현철) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) , DRX DRX Korea Rank #5 Hermes Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) , and Nongshim RedForce Nongshim RedForce Korea Rank #1 Xross Jeonghwan (정환) Rb Goo Sang-min (구상민) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) are based in Seoul, a three-hour KTX ride or a one-hour flight connect the two cities.

Additionally, the 2026 season will see Challengers teams from each region have the chance to qualify for Champions, earning a bid into the Stage 2 Play-Ins, which could grant them a spot in the Stage 2 playoffs.