Riot Games has laid out the first concrete details of how VCT China will look in 2027, part of a wider overhaul that pushes VALORANT's top-tier competition away from its current league format and toward a system built around Kickoff and Cups tournaments. For China specifically, Riot is keeping a structure more insulated from open competition than what's planned for the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific, while still opening a path for outside teams to break in.
A 12-team format built on three tiers
VCT China 2027 will run with 12 teams competing across Kickoff and the Cups. The league's foundation is a Core of 8 partnered organizations, the teams holding permanent slots in the region. Alongside them sit 2 visitor teams, which earn their place through a promotion system Riot is calling Threshold. Threshold replaces the system previously known as Ascension, serving the same basic function: giving the strongest non-partnered teams a route into the top division. The final 2 spots go to teams from VCNT, China's domestic qualification circuit. Unlike the Core and visitor slots, these places are not fixed for the full year — they're determined individually ahead of each major event on the calendar.
More insulated than other regions
Riot has described China's structure as more protected than what's being implemented in the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific. In practice, that means all 10 permanent teams — the 8 Core partners plus the 2 Threshold-promoted visitors — get automatic seeding into Kickoff and into both Cups. That leaves just 2 of the 12 slots per event genuinely up for grabs, filled by whichever teams come through VCNT qualification. Rather than opening most of its field to qualification the way the less protected regions do, China's model concentrates the season around a stable core roster of organizations while still leaving a door open for new teams to break through via Threshold and VCNT.
Three new Rivals events fill the offseason
Beyond the core season structure, Riot also confirmed an expanded offseason lineup built around three new events under the Rivals banner. Rivals: CN will feature the 10 permanent VCT China participants — the Core organizations and the two Threshold visitor teams. Rivals: Asia steps outside the domestic bubble, pitting the top-performing Chinese teams against squads from VCT Pacific. The most significant of the three is Rivals: International, which brings together elite teams from all four VCT regions and is set to serve as the successor to the Radiant International Invitational. Riot also confirmed the Evolution Cup remains on the 2027 calendar, continuing alongside the new tournament structure rather than being replaced by it.
What it means for the region
Taken together, the details point to a China region that keeps its top organizations locked into automatic seeding while still leaving room for newcomers to break in through Threshold and VCNT, with the new Rivals series padding out the competitive calendar. It's a more protected balance than the one Riot has outlined for the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific. With VCT China's 2027 framework now outlined, the region becomes the clearest early example of how Riot intends to vary its new tournament-based system from one part of the world to another. Further details on the other three regions, along with scheduling specifics for Kickoff, the Cups, and the new Rivals events, are expected as Riot continues rolling out its broader VCT restructuring.
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