VALORANT 2026 Game Changers North America Road Map Revealed

With a total prize pool of $150,000, the complete Game Changers North America roadmap for VALORANT in 2026 has been released by Riot Games.

The circuit will run from February to September and include a Kickoff tournament, two main events, and five Raidian Academy events. It'll include competitions across North America, EMEA, LATAM, Brazil, Pacific, and China. There's a global Game Changers Championship yearly, too.

Riot Games also announced in January 2025 that it intended to launch a similar program for League of Legends.

The Kickoff Event

The North American season begins with the Kickoff event. This is a pivotal time, as it allows teams to evaluate players and prepare for the big matchups.

There can be 32 teams that'll compete in the Kickoff Open Qualifier, which occurs from Feb. 4 to Feb. 9. The top eight squads advance to the main stage. From there, it wraps up between Feb. 20 and March 1. It's double-elimination.

All matches are best-of-three, except the Lower Bracket Finals and Grand Finals, which are best-of-five.

This event doesn't award Championship Circuit Points, but there is a $10,000 prize pool.

The Open Qualifier and most of the main event will be available to watch on Raidiant's Twitch channel, with the finals on VALORANT Americas' Twitch and YouTube.

Stage 1 and 2 of Game Changers NA

After the Kickoff event, there are two Stage events, which are identical.

Stage 1: April 15 to June 5.
Stage 2: July 3 to Sept. 13

Teams will qualify through the Open Qualifiers. There will be a Swiss Stage and a Main Event.

There will be 16 teams competing in seven Swiss rounds. These determine the top eight. Then, they will compete in the Main Event, a double-elimination bracket. Again, everything is best-of-three except the Lower Bracket Finals and Grand Finals (best-of-five).

In Stage 1, the top two teams from 2025, Shopify Rebellion Gold and Wadadaaa, will be invited to Swiss Stage 1.

Also, the top eight rosters from Stage 1 will automatically qualify for the Stage 2 Swiss Stage.

Then, the winners from both will earn the bulk of the $65,000 in prize winnings and will also earn Game Changers Championship Circuit Points. These points will go toward qualifying for the Game Changers Championship and the Last Chance Qualifier.

You can view these events on Raidiant's Twitch, and the Main Events will be on the VALORANT Americas Twitch and YouTube.