This is a dated recap of how Valorant esports grew from a new game in 2020 to a global circuit with international finals each year. It covers events up to the end of the 2025 season, with a short note on 2026. For the latest results, always check Riot's official esports site.
Riot Games ran a closed beta of Valorant in early 2020. Riot's own announcement said the beta queues would close on May 28 and that the game would launch on June 2, 2020.
Valorant is a five-versus-five tactical shooter. One side tries to plant a bomb-like device called the Spike, and the other tries to stop them or defuse it. Each player controls an "agent" with special abilities, which sit on top of the gunplay. That mix of precise aim and team abilities quickly drew players from other shooters and gave tournament organisers a new title to work with.
Riot organises its top-level competition under the VALORANT Champions Tour, or VCT. By the 2025 season, the official structure was built around four International Leagues:
Teams in these leagues compete through the season for spots at the international events: the Masters tournaments during the year and Champions, the world championship, at the end.
For Filipino fans, the Pacific league is the closest to home. Its home venue, COEX Shinhan Card Artium in Seoul, also hosted the opening stage of Champions in 2024.
Champions in 2024 was held in Seoul, South Korea. According to Riot's official event guide, it ran from August 1 to August 25, 2024. Sixteen teams were split into four groups, and two from each group went on to an eight-team double-elimination playoff bracket.
The event opened at COEX Shinhan Card Artium, the home venue of VCT Pacific, and finished at INSPIRE Arena, where the grand final was played on August 25. Paper Rex, Talon Esports, DRX and Gen.G were among the sixteen teams listed in the official guide.
The 2025 season had two Masters events and one Champions.
Champions Paris brought together sixteen teams from the four International Leagues. Eight qualified directly by finishing in the top two of their league, and eight more earned places through Championship Points collected during the season. The group stage ran from September 12 to 22, and the playoffs from September 25 to October 5. Finals weekend moved to the Accor Arena in Paris. Matches were best of three until the last two, which were best of five.
Looking back from late 2026, a few patterns stand out in Valorant esports:
Champions 2026 was held in Shanghai from September 24 to October 18, 2026. This recap does not cover its results. Riot's official esports site lists the final standings.
If you follow Valorant esports closely, our page on Valorant champions across the globe looks at some of the teams and players behind these results. If you are thinking about betting on matches, first read whether Valorant esports betting is legal in the Philippines.
Betting is for adults 21 and over only. Results in esports are uncertain, even for the best teams in the world, so set a budget before a tournament and stay within it. More esports coverage is in our e-sports section.
