Early opinions are in for the start of VCT 2026: players are enjoying the triple-elimination format to start the season.

These regional triple-elim brackets are the debut tournaments for 2026, with each region sending three teams to Masters Santiago instead of the previous two. This offers all teams a minimum of three games played instead of two or one, as we saw in recent years. Plus, bad Kickoff performances led to teams sidelined for months until the regional stages began, leaving them in an anxious position, but that gripe seems to be resolved this year.

“I think the new format is really good for everyone,” grubinho said. “I know people were complaining because, last year, if you lost two times, you're just out for an extended period. That extra game that each team gets is nice. With how the bracket is set up, it's specifically good because after that long break of the offseason, teams like ours get that stage experience again.”

The 2026 GIANTX GIANTX Europe Rank #5 Cloud Kirill Nehozhin grubinho Grzegorz Ryczko westside Miłosz Duda Flickless Karel Maeckelbergh ara Hanceriuc Eduard-George lineup is unique in many ways. The GX roster is one of the few groups that made no significant changes from the end of 2025. After going on a strong run to make Champions in EMEA, the team reached the biggest international tournament of the year and got some needed experience for their rookies, Flickless and ara . For grubinho, this offseason was a nice change of pace from previous years, during which his rosters were in a constant state of flux.

“We got more experience due to Champs, with the bigger stage and battling against different regions,” grubinho said. “This offseason was good for us because we were able to stick together and use the time to try and get ahead of other teams. I know the results haven't shown it yet, but experience and consistency are important. In previous years, I know I was changing teams or going through roster changes that reset the year completely, so it was nice not going through that.”

GIANTX roster 2026 The GIANTX roster for VCT 2026.

Aside from the triple-elimination format, the start of VCT 2026 was highlighted by a shorter offseason, the new Sentinel Veto, and significant gameplay changes focused on utility, most notably the nerfs to Initiators and Controllers. While the tempo of the game has shifted across all regions, the flexibility teams are showing to start the year varies widely. All years start with teams trying to figure out what is best, leading to some creative choices that do not always pan out, but grubinho and GX are comfortable with how 2026 is shaping up.

“The patches didn't hit us much; overall, the meta shows that you can play a lot of different comps from double-Duelist to double-Initiator and double-Controller and still win games,” grubinho said. “I know that Breach was nerfed, but we still use it in our comps, and I don't think it affects us much. The maps are not the best for us right now in comparison to the end of last year, but we are overall okay with the map pool, and we'll manage.”

The map changes were arguably the second biggest differences heading into 2026, with Corrode and a new Breeze forcing teams to learn on the fly. Both maps aren't exactly new, but teams are still becoming accustomed to them. When talking specifically about the Breeze changes, grubinho agreed with the pro consensus so far that the map is a lot better than it used to be.

“The Breeze changes really changed the map significantly,” grubinho said, “especially comparing the comps you used to see on Breeze to now. The map feels a lot better than before, and I think it is the biggest change from the offseason because people are still learning how to play the map ideally. It just so happens that right now, playing in the tournament, we can't learn from other regions on the fly. When the regional stages come around, the time off and weekly format will allow for quicker and larger adaptations.”

Already, we have seen a lot more mid plays and B splits than the frequent A and B defaults and post-plants that we saw before. The removal of halls on Breeze made each choke point more important, while the small changes to the sites themselves added more positions for players to play on site, like A site's new cubby.

GIANTX win round over Team Heretics Kickoff 2026 GIANTX win a round over Team Heretics at VCT EMEA 2026 Kickoff.

Whether it is Breeze, Corrode, or any of the other maps in the pool, GIANTX looks to be in a much different position regionally than at the end of VCT 2025. Keeping its roster the same has its benefits, but it also allows other teams to pick up new talent and improve significantly. For example, Gentle Mates Gentle Mates Europe Rank #8 starxo Patryk Kopczynski bipo Taranvir Singh marteen Martin Pátek GLYPH Conner Garcia Minny Patrik Hušek look rejuvenated and were able to complete a big comeback on Bind to sweep GX in its first game of the year. GX was able to rebound to win a close series against PCIFIC Esports PCIFIC Esports Europe Rank #53 al0rante Felix Brandl cNed Mehmet Yağız İpek qpert Mateja Mijovic NINJA Patryk Koczyba seven Johann Hernandez , but grubinho was very aware of his team's struggles to start the year.

“The region got better in terms of rosters, but when it comes to our results, we think we should have won the match against M8s, or at least map two,” grubinho said. “Against PCIFIC, it could have been an easier win for us, but it was a hard win. PCIFIC didn't play poorly, but I think we could have closed out Bind faster, especially after the Bind loss against M8s.”

Now, GIANTX is still alive in the tournament after sweeping Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #3 Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish ComeBack Berkcan Şentürk Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius and losing convincingly to Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #4 Jamppi Elias Olkkonen PROFEK Dawid Święć Derke Nikita Sirmitev Chronicle Timofey Khromov Sayonara Ștefan Mîtcu in the middle bracket, but the team no longer has the plethora of chances to qualify that Gentle Mates and BBL Esports BBL Esports Europe Rank #2 Crewen Ali Eren Sargin Lar0k Yusuf Kaan Kanber Loita Utku Kart Rosé Eren Erzan lovers rock Umut Pekdoğan have. Like many other teams across VCT, the roster is still adapting to both gameplay changes and new rosters around them. Santiago is on the line, so these three strikes matter all the more for teams looking to make waves in VCT 2026.