TL;DR The 12-team roster for the first international LAN of the 2026 VCT season is now official. Riot and the leagues released the full list of qualified squads, the Swiss Stage opening matchups, and the complete tournament format on the same day. This is not just another Masters. With Championship Points on the line for […]
Published February 16, 2026, 6:59 PM
Updated April 29, 2026, 5:33 PM
Image by Riot Games
The 12-team roster for the first international LAN of the 2026 VCT season is now official. Riot and the leagues released the full list of qualified squads, the Swiss Stage opening matchups, and the complete tournament format on the same day.
This is not just another Masters. With Championship Points on the line for the top four and a double-elimination playoffs bracket already drawn, the regional #1 seeds enter with a clear edge while the other eight must earn their spot the hard way. A single Swiss loss can end a run before the real bracket even begins.
| Region | Seed 1 | Seed 2 | Seed 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | FURIA | G2 Esports | NRG Esports |
| EMEA | BBL Esports | Gentle Mates | Team Liquid |
| China | All Gamers | Xi Lai Gaming | EDward Gaming |
| Pacific | Nongshim Red Force | T1 | Paper Rex |
The four #1 seeds: FURIA, BBL Esports, All Gamers, and Nongshim Red Force – skip the Swiss Stage entirely and head straight into the playoffs bracket.
The remaining eight teams open play on February 28 in a standard Swiss format (best-of-three). The four opening matches are:
Only the top four advance. The bottom four are eliminated. No second chances.
The eight-team double-elimination bracket starts March 6. The four bye teams are pre-seeded into the upper bracket quarterfinals and will face the four Swiss survivors. Upper and lower bracket runs continue until the grand final, which is a single map-deciding match if the upper-bracket team wins, or a second grand final if the lower-bracket team forces it.
The bracket itself has already been drawn and published by Riot, fixing the paths for the bye teams and the slots the Swiss qualifiers will fill.
Masters Santiago is the first of three global events that feed directly into Champions Shanghai qualification. The top four teams walk away with:
1st : 4 Championship Points
2nd : 3 Points
3rd : 2 Points
4th : 1 Point
The $1 million prize pool is secondary to the points in February. A deep run here gives a team breathing room for the rest of the year; an early exit means they must overperform later just to stay on track for Shanghai.
The Swiss Stage begins in less than two weeks. The four byes are already inside the bracket. Everything else has to be earned on site.
