The VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 Pacific Stage 2 playoffs begin on August 26 and run to September 6, Esports.gg reports. Eight teams came through the group and play-in rounds to reach the bracket, which carries a $250,000 prize pool.
Two places at VALORANT Champions 2026 are decided here, going to the winners of the upper and lower finals. A third Pacific slot is awarded separately on the regional leaderboard, so the bracket accounts for most but not all of the region’s representation at the season’s closing event, which runs from September 24 to October 18.
The opening week of matches is scheduled for August 26 to 29, with the two weeks of play ending on a final weekend staged in front of a larger crowd in Busan, South Korea. Matches are streamed on the tournament’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.
The names to watch
Esports.gg singles out Paper Rex as the region’s most consistent international performer, citing a Masters Toronto 2025 title, a fourth-place finish at Champions 2025 and grand final appearances at both 2026 Masters events in Santiago and London. Nongshim RedForce arrive on the back of a Masters Santiago 2026 win and a third-place finish at the Esports World Cup 2026.
Gen.G Esports added two players in July 2026 and were described as decent through the regular season, though the organization has not reached an international event since finishing in the top six at Masters Toronto 2025. DRX placed third at Champions 2025 but have since slipped, and field a partly new roster this season. T1 won Masters Bangkok 2025 and have since placed in the top 12 at Champions 2025 and the top 10 at Masters Santiago 2026.
VARREL are the outlier. The organization has never played an international VALORANT event, but topped its group in the regular season, beating Paper Rex, DRX and T1 along the way.