Valorant Champions Around the World: Host Cities and Winners

Every competitive Valorant season ends at one event: Champions, the world championship of the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) run by Riot Games. Since the first edition in 2021, it has moved to a different country each year, and the trophy has gone to teams from several regions. This recap follows the event city by city, using Riot's official sources, and looks at how teams earn a place in it.

Six Cities, Six Champions: The Winners So Far

Riot's official Valorant wiki lists the winning team of each edition through the in-game titles awarded to champions:

• 2021, Berlin: Acend
• 2022, Istanbul: LOUD
• 2023, Los Angeles: Evil Geniuses
• 2024, Seoul: EDward Gaming
• 2025, Paris: NRG

For a list-style version of these results, see our Valorant Champions list.

Berlin to Los Angeles: The Early Editions

The first three editions took the event across Europe, Eurasia and North America. Berlin hosted the first world championship in 2021, Istanbul followed in 2022 and Los Angeles hosted in 2023. Each produced a winner from a different organisation, with Acend, LOUD and Evil Geniuses all lifting the trophy for the first time.

Those years also showed how much the game's competitive scene grew after its launch. Our overview of Valorant esports covers how the league structure developed over that period.

Seoul 2024: The First Champions MVP

In 2024 the event moved to Seoul, South Korea, and EDward Gaming took the title. According to Riot, Seoul was also where the first Champions MVP award was handed out, adding an individual honour to the team trophy.

Paris 2025: Two Venues and a Best-of-Five Finish

Riot's official guide to the 2025 event gives a clear picture of how a modern Champions works:

• The group stage ran from September 12 to 22, and the playoffs from September 25 to October 5, ending with the grand final on October 5.
• Matches started at Les Arènes de Grand Paris Sud in Évry-Courcouronnes and finished at the Accor Arena in Paris.
• Sixteen teams took part: eight qualified directly by finishing in the top two of their International League, and eight were invited through Championship Points.
• Teams played a double-elimination group stage in four groups, with the top two from each group advancing to a double-elimination playoff bracket.
• Playoff matches were best-of-three until the final two matches, which were best-of-five.

NRG won the Paris edition, its first world title in Valorant.

Shanghai 2026: Four Regions, Sixteen Teams

The 2026 edition was held in Shanghai, China. Riot's preview lists the event dates as September 24 to October 18, 2026, with the group stage running September 24 to October 4 and the playoffs October 7 to 18. Sixteen teams from the Americas, China, EMEA and Pacific took part, with one team from each region in each of the four groups. Group matches were best-of-three, and both stages eliminated a team after two losses.

How a Team Earns a Place at Champions

Champions is not an open tournament. Teams qualify through the VCT season, either by finishing near the top of their international league or by earning enough Championship Points during the year. That system rewards consistency across the season, not only a strong run at one event, which helps explain why the field is usually made up of the strongest teams from every region.

Following the Event Responsibly

Many fans follow the Valorant Champions results closely, and some also place bets on matches. If you do, remember that betting is for adults 21 and older only, upsets are common in a game decided round by round, and no result can be predicted with certainty. Set a budget before the event starts and keep to it. More esports coverage is available in our e-sports section.