2026 VCT Pacific Kickoff: Schedule, Format, And Masters Santiago Info

The 2026 VCT Pacific Kickoff is the season's opening event, and the region's top teams are coming together to compete. 

The tournament takes place from January 22 to February 15. In all, there are two Ascension teams and 10 partnered squads. The event will be held at the Sangam Colosseum in South Korea, and teams will compete for a place at VALORANT Masters Santiago. The event will be held at Espacio Riesco from February 28 to March 15, with 12 teams. Three teams from VCT Pacific Kickoff will advance. 

Riot Games has shared the format for VCT Pacific Kickoff, including the opening matches. 

There's been plenty of VALORANT news lately as 2026 approaches, including the Game Changers North America 2026 roadmap, the German squad MOUZ's decision to stop play, and more. 

More On 2026 VCT Pacific Kickoff Event

The Pacific Kickoff will be triple-elimination. There are three brackets: Upper, middle, and lower. Four teams have a direct bye to the second round of the upper bracket. Those teams include T1, Paper Rex, DRX, and RRQ. They have a bye due to the VALORANT Championship 2025 qualification. 

These are the opening matches: 

• Match 1: Nongshim RedForce vs Team Secret
• Match 2: ZETA DIVISION vs FULL SENSE
• Match 3: VARREL vs Global Esports
• Match 4: DetonatioN FocusMe vs Gen.G Esports
• Match 5: T1 vs Winner of Match 1
• Match 6: DRX vs Winner of Match 2
• Match 7: Paper Rex vs Winner of Match 3
• Match 8: RRQ vs Winner of Match 4

After VCT Pacific Kickoff

After three weeks, the winners of each bracket will represent the Pacific Region in Santiago. Teams will earn VCT Points in Santiago, including six points (first place), four points (second place), three points (third place), two points (fourth place), and one point (fifth and sixth place). 

The top four teams at VCT Pacific Kickoff will earn Championship points, which will help teams push toward VALORANT Champions 2026 Shanghai.

The first-place team will receive four championship points, and points decrease by one until the fourth-place team, which will earn one point. 

You can watch VCT Pacific Kickoff on their official Twitch and YouTube channels, but you can also tune into your favorite streamers, too.