Valorant teams that successfully qualify for the VCT 2027 Kickoff tournament through its Open Qualifiers will receive a $100,000 financial support package, Riot Games has outlined.
The VCT 2027 EMEA Kickoff Qualifiers, running from November, will be the first EMEA Open Qualifiers in the revamped Valorant Champions Tour circuit, offering four spots in the VCT 2027 Kickoff tournament.
The remaining eight spots at the tournament will be filled by the selected Partnered Teams for the VCT region, which are yet to be confirmed.
Non-Partnered teams set to earn a financial support package for event qualification
Riot also outlined financial support for non-partnered teams that qualify for VCT Tier 1 events, including VCT Kickoff, VCT Cups, and the global Masters and Champions tournaments that Kickoff and Cups lead to.
In 2027, non-partner teams that qualify for major stages of the VCT ecosystem will receive fixed financial support based on how far they progress:
- Qualify for Kickoff or a Cup: $100,000
- Qualify for Masters: $200,000
- Qualify for Champions: $400,000
Non-partner teams will also be eligible for prize pool earnings and additional incentives as they progress through the season.
Riot stated, “The goal is to give teams meaningful support as they compete at higher levels of VCT – starting with the opportunity to earn your place at Kickoff through the VCT EMEA Kickoff Qualifiers.”
That makes qualifying for Tier 1 events highly lucrative for non-partnered teams, with qualification to global events even more rewarding, but Partnered teams will still benefit from exclusive Partner benefits like Team Capsules and Direct Seeding to later stages of qualifiers.
How VCT 2027 EMEA Kickoff Qualifiers will work
VCT 2027 EMEA will be split into three ‘Regions’: Europe, Türkiye, and MENA. Each region will have two Open Qualifiers that lead to its region’s ‘Kickoff Playoffs’, which will decide who secures the spots for VCT 2027 EMEA Kickoff.
With four total teams qualifying for the event through the qualifiers, the Europe region will contribute two qualified teams, with Türkiye and MENA each sending one team.
The VCT 2027 EMEA Kickoff Qualifiers will take place on the following dates:
Europe:-
- Open Qualifier 1: November 5–8
- Open Qualifier 2: November 12–15
Türkiye:-
- Open Qualifier 1: November 10–13
- Open Qualifier 2: November 18-21
MENA:-
- Open Qualifier 1: November 1–3
- Open Qualifier 2: November 9-11
The eight teams progressing from the Open Qualifiers in the Europe region will be joined by eight invited non-Partner Teams in the Kickoff Playoffs, selected based on their 2026 competitive status and performance.
MENA will see select non-partner teams receive higher seeding in the Kickoff Qualifiers based on their 2026 competitive performance.
The dates for the VCT 2027 Kickoff Playoffs are:
- Europe: November 25-December 6
- Türkiye: November 25-December 6
- MENA: November 20-December 6
Riot Games outlines team & player eligibility rules for Open Circuit
Riot outlined a set of rules for players and teams, putting restrictions both on players and the teams that can take part in the open qualifiers.
Player Eligibility Requirements:
- Players must be 17 years or older.
- Players must have reached Ascendant 1 or higher at the time of registration, or during the previous three acts.
Team & Roster Requirements:
- Non-partner teams will select their home region when registering. Once selected, teams will only be able to change regions in certain circumstances.
- At least three of the five starting players must be residents of the team’s home region: Europe, Türkiye, or MENA.
- Teams must maintain at least three players on their Starting Lineup who are Residents of the Team’s Home Region as they progress through qualifiers.
- Teams may only have a maximum of two players on their Starting Lineup who are non-Residents.
- To advance to the Kickoff Qualifier Playoffs, teams must retain at least three of the five players from the roster that qualified through the respective Kickoff Qualifier.
Eligibility for individual countries within each region is defined in the Competition Ruleset.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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