Eight Teams Join the Race for the VALORANT Champions Shanghai Title

Background: Shanghai Sets Up the Tournament’s Biggest Matches

VALORANT Champions Shanghai, the top international event for Riot Games’ PC tactical shooter VALORANT, ran its group stage from September 24 to October 4 at Jing’an Sports Center in Shanghai, then turns to its playoff phase on October 7. The change marks the event’s highest-stakes stretch, with eight teams moving into a double-elimination bracket. Because a single loss no longer ends a run, the bracket tests map pools, adaptability, and late-series composure more sharply than the earlier stage.

Group Stage Map Results: The Americas Take Four Spots, Pacific Takes Three

Inven Global reported that the completed field includes four Americas teams and three Pacific teams after the group stage. Paper Rex, T1, and Nongshim RedForce emerged from Pacific, while Team Vitality stood as the only EMEA qualifier. China’s CN region had a rough opening phase, with all four of its teams eliminated.

The split reflects both the host region’s difficult group stage and a strong showing from the Americas. The Americas’ four-team presence came with a strong map record: the region lost only five of 22 maps. 100 Thieves advanced without dropping a map. NRG came out of Group D with a 2-0 record. Paper Rex finished undefeated in Group C after taking Team Liquid and G2 in 2-1 series. T1 also entered the bracket through a decisive group-stage game, defeating FUT Esports 2-0 with both maps closing 13-10; Inven Global noted iZu’s key plays at important moments.

The Americas’ qualification path produced the four-team playoff presence, while Pacific carries three teams into the next phase.

Pacific and EMEA Storylines: A Debutant and a Lone Survivor

Nongshim RedForce reached Champions’ playoff field in its first appearance at the event, arriving with momentum from its Masters Santiago 2026 win and its runner-up finish at VCT Pacific Finals Busan. Team Vitality, meanwhile, carries the only EMEA slot in the eight-team bracket.

Playoff Fixtures: October 7 and October 8 Define the Opening Round

The bracket opens with two matches on October 7 and one on October 8:

• October 7: T1 vs NRG
• October 7: Paper Rex vs LOUD
• October 8: Nongshim RedForce vs Team Vitality

These first pairings put Pacific’s qualifiers under immediate pressure. T1 must face defending champion NRG, Paper Rex meets LOUD on October 7, and Nongshim RedForce answers Team Vitality the next day as the bracket begins shaping the title race.

Title History and Stakes: Repetition, Firsts, and Regional Records

NRG is chasing a Champions’ first back-to-back winner and a first two-time championship, since a different team has won each year since the tournament began in 2021. The Americas have claimed three titles between 2021 and 2025, and their group-stage map losses were limited to five of 22.

EDward Gaming, the 2024 champion, left the event without winning a map. Pacific is still searching for its first Champions title, with Paper Rex’s runner-up finish in 2023 remaining the region’s best prior result.

Current Stage: The Event Is Now a Bracket for Eight

Champions Shanghai has moved from the September 24 to October 4 group stage into its double-elimination playoff phase, with the October 7 start of the bracket deciding which of the eight teams can turn regional seeding, map records, and title history into the next Champions trophy.