Riot picks its VCT partners for 2027, and some big names miss out

Eight teams per region instead of ten. Cloud9, NAVI, KOI and DetonatioN FocusMe are among those heading for the open qualifiers.

Riot began telling organisations on Monday 19 October whether they'd made the cut as VALORANT Champions Tour partners for 2027–28. Each international league now has eight partners, down from ten.

THESPIKE's list, built from team announcements, has Americas going to LOUD, G2, NRG, Sentinels, KRÜ, LEVIATÁN, MIBR and 100 Thieves. EMEA's eight are Team Heretics, BBL, Fnatic, Team Vitality, Team Liquid, Gentle Mates, Karmine Corp and FUT. In Pacific, Crazy Raccoon return to the league and GAM Esports join it.

The organisations left out include Cloud9, FURIA, FlyQuest and Shopify Rebellion in Americas, NAVI and Movistar KOI in EMEA, and DetonatioN FocusMe, NS RedForce and Global Esports in Pacific.

Missing out doesn't end a team's season. Under the format Riot set out in June, each Kickoff has four places for teams from open qualifiers, and non-partner teams get US$100,000 for reaching Kickoff or a Cup, rising to US$400,000 for Champions.