VCT Champions 2022 group, format and opening matchups

The format, schedule, and opening matches of the forthcoming 2022 Valorant Champions in Istanbul have been publicly released by Riot Games.

A total of sixteen teams from all over the world will compete for the title of best Valorant team in the world at Valorant Champions, the greatest and most prestigious Valorant esports competition of the year. Taking place on August 31, The Valorant Champions will kick off with explosive matchups like Paper Rex vs. EDward Gaming and vs. Team Liquid.

VCT Champions 2022 Schedule 

With a day off on September 6, the Group Stage will take place from August 31 through September 8. The top two teams from each group advance to the playoffs, which are scheduled to take place from September 9 to September 13. After a two-day break, the competition will resume on September 16 with the upper finals and continue the following day with the lower finals. On September 18, after more than two weeks of showing the finest Valorant action around the globe, the competition will come to an end with the crowning of one of the 16 teams as world champions.

Format

Based on each team’s placement at regional Challengers and international competitions, the 16 qualified teams have been divided into four groups. The group stage of the event will adopt a GSL-style format and each group will have two winners that will advance to double elimination bracket playoffs, similar to Master Copenhagen’s. The opening match of the playoffs will be between one of the four first-seeded teams from each group and a second-seeded team from another group.

Participant team and matchups

Group A

• Paper Rex (APAC)
• EDward Gaming (East Asia)
• Leviatán (LATAM)
• Team Liquid (EMEA)

The Master Copenhagen finalist Paper Rex will compete against the Chinese powerhouse EDward Gaming on the first day of the event. After a dominant performance at Masters, Paper Pex will look to extend their dominance at VCT by winning their first international title.

Group B

• OpTic Gaming (NA)
• BOOM Esports (APAC)
• ZETA DIVISION (Japan)
• LOUD (Brazil)

In the opening Group B match, one of the top North American teams, OpTic Gaming, will face Boom Esports, the APAC LCQ champion. For a chance to advance to the playoff round, LOUD and ZETA DIVISION compete against each other in the second opening match.

Group C

• FunPlus Phoenix (EMEA)
• KRÜ Esports (LATAM)
• XSET (NA)
• XERXIA (APAC)

The group’s opening matchups feature the defending Masters champions FunPlus Phoenix taking on KRÜ Esports and the North American representatives XSET facing off against XERXIA.

Group D

• DRX (Korea)
• FURIA Esports (Brazil)
• Fnatic (EMEA)
• 100 Thieves (NA)

As the opening matches feature fan favorites from North America, Korea, Brazil, and Europe, the atmosphere in Group D could get absolutely chaotic. The first match of the group will be played between DRX and FURIA, while 100T will square off with Fnatic in the second.

Header: Riot Games