- MyRepublic
Singapore VALORANT fans won’t exactly need convincing to watch this one.
VALORANT Champions 2026 lands in Shanghai from 24 September to 18 October, bringing together 16 of the world’s best teams from VCT Pacific, Americas, EMEA and China to decide who gets to call themselves world champion.
And there’s an extra reason to set that alarm: Singapore-based Paper Rex plays in the very first match of the tournament. As one of the biggest names in Singapore esports, PRX gives local fans a very obvious team to get behind in Shanghai.
This is far from PRX’s first appearance on VALORANT’s biggest stage. The team has been a regular fixture at international VCT events and came agonisingly close to the ultimate prize at VALORANT Champions 2023, reaching the Grand Final before finishing runners-up to Evil Geniuses. They’re back at Champions in 2026 with another shot at going one step further.
Here’s what you need to know about Champions Shanghai, including the teams, opening schedule, tournament format and how to watch it live from Singapore.
When is VALORANT Champions 2026?
Here are the important dates at a glance:
- Dates: 24 September–18 October 2026
- Location: Shanghai, China
- Teams: 16
- Group Stage: 24 September–4 October
- Playoffs: 7–18 October
- Grand Final: 18 October
VALORANT Champions is the finale of the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), bringing together the top-performing teams from each of the game’s four international leagues.
After months of regional competition, Masters events and Championship Points, Champions is where it all gets settled. One tournament, one trophy and, presumably, quite a lot of shouting into headsets.
Who are the 16 Teams Competing at Champions Shanghai
The VALORANT Champions 2026 teams come from all four VCT regions, with four representatives apiece.
VCT Pacific
- Paper Rex
- NONGSHIM REDFORCE
- Global Esports
- T1
VCT Americas
- NRG
- G2 Esports
- LOUD
- 100 Thieves
VCT EMEA
- Team Vitality
- FUT Esports
- Team Liquid
- Karmine Corp
VCT China
- JD Gaming
- Xi Lai Gaming
- TYLOO Gaming
- EDward Gaming
Qualification for Champions combines performance in VCT Stage 2 with each region’s Championship Points standings, rewarding teams that either peaked at the business end of the season or consistently delivered results throughout 2026.
For viewers, the important bit is much simpler: the regional qualifiers are over, the final 16 are locked in, and Shanghai is where the arguments about which VCT region is strongest finally get settled on the server.
Paper Rex Opens Champions 2026
Champions Shanghai gets going with a match Singapore fans will want to circle immediately: Paper Rex faces Team Liquid on Thursday, 24 September at 9am Singapore Time (SGT), opening the entire tournament. TYLOO vs G2 Esports follows at 12pm.
PRX arrive in Shanghai after another season spent mixing it with the world’s best. They won VCT Pacific Stage 1 and went on to reach the Grand Finals of both Masters Santiago and Masters London, finishing runners-up at each. Add their run to the VALORANT Champions 2023 Grand Final, and this is a team with plenty of experience when the international stakes get serious.
For fans of esports in Singapore and across the wider VCT Pacific region, they’re naturally going to be one of the teams to watch. The question is whether 2026 is finally the year Paper Rex turn another deep international run into the Champions trophy.
VALORANT Champions 2026 Opening Matches to Watch
You don’t need to memorise an entire month of fixtures just yet. The opening matches are confirmed, and there are already some tasty match-ups across all four regions.
For Singapore fans, Champions gets interesting immediately as Paper Rex opens the entire tournament against Team Liquid at 9am SGT on 24 September.
Here’s the opening schedule, with all times in Singapore Time (SGT):
24 September
- 9am — Team Liquid vs Paper Rex
- 12pm — TYLOO vs G2 Esports
25 September
- 9am — NONGSHIM REDFORCE vs NRG
- 12pm — Karmine Corp vs Xi Lai Gaming
26 September
- 9am — Global Esports vs Team Vitality
- 12pm — LOUD vs EDward Gaming
27 September
- 9am — 100 Thieves vs T1
- 12pm — JD Gaming vs FUT Esports
For us, the obvious one to circle is Team Liquid vs Paper Rex, where PRX is back at Champions with another shot at the trophy. No need to worry about weird hours either, as the match kicks off at 9AM.
After these opening matches, the schedule starts to depend on results as teams move through their respective groups.
How Does VALORANT Champions 2026 Work?
If you don’t spend the entire year keeping track of VCT brackets, don’t worry. The Champions format is fairly straightforward: 16 teams start the tournament, eight make the Playoffs, and one eventually leaves Shanghai as world champion.
27 September
The 16 teams are divided into four groups of four, with each group played in a double-elimination format.
That means one loss doesn’t immediately send a team home. Win enough and you’ll progress; lose twice and your Champions run is over.
Every Group Stage match is a best-of-three (Bo3), and the top two teams from each group advance to the Playoffs. By the end of the Group Stage, the original field of 16 will have been cut in half.
Playoffs
The remaining eight teams then enter another double-elimination bracket, so there’s still a safety net for teams that stumble once.
Most Playoff matches are best-of-three, but the stakes and the potential screen time increase towards the end. The Lower Final and Grand Final are best-of-five (Bo5) series, giving the last teams standing a longer battle to decide who takes the Champions trophy.
Basically: lose once and things get uncomfortable. Lose twice and enjoy Shanghai as a tourist.
Who Should You Watch?
With 16 teams and four regions represented, there are plenty of storylines heading into Shanghai. If you’re not already arriving with a team jersey and years of emotional investment, here are five worth keeping an eye on.
Paper Rex: Can They Finally Go All the Way?
Singapore bias? Maybe a little. But Paper Rex have given us plenty of reasons to believe in 2026.
PRX won VCT Pacific Stage 1 before reaching the Grand Final at both Masters Santiago and Masters London, finishing runners-up on both occasions. Add their second-place finish at Champions 2023 and there’s a familiar theme here: Paper Rex know how to go deep at international tournaments.
Their continued success has also made them one of the most recognisable representatives of esports in Singapore on the international stage. The question in Shanghai is whether this is finally the tournament where they turn another deep run into the biggest trophy in VALORANT.
And yes, expect plenty of eyes on Jinggg and the rest of PRX whenever the W Gaming starts getting particularly W.
G2 Esports: Never an Easy Draw
G2 Esports have spent 2026 proving they belong in the conversation whenever the world’s top teams meet.
They reached the Playoffs at Masters Santiago and Masters London, and their Stage 2 campaign once again put them among the stronger sides in the Americas field.
Champions hasn’t always been kind to favourites, though, and G2 arrive in Shanghai with plenty to prove. If they find their rhythm early, they’re exactly the sort of team nobody wants appearing on their side of the bracket.
EDward Gaming: Playing Champions on Home Soil
Few teams will have quite as much home support as EDward Gaming.
EDG made an impressive run at Masters London, reaching the Lower Final after beating the likes of FUT Esports and Xi Lai Gaming before eventually finishing third. Their Stage 2 campaign was considerably bumpier, however, with EDG missing the China Playoffs and qualifying for Champions through Championship Points.
That makes Shanghai an interesting reset: a proven international team, a home crowd behind them and one last opportunity to finish 2026 on a high.
T1: Dangerous When Their Backs Are Against the Wall
T1 had to do things the hard way in VCT Pacific Stage 2.
After entering the lower bracket, they put together a run that included wins over Kiwoom DRX, Gen.G and VARREL before eventually falling to Global Esports in the Lower Final. They still did enough across the season to book their place at Champions through Championship Points.
They’re also one of the most recognisable esports organisations in Asia, so don’t expect T1 to be short of support when they face 100 Thieves on 27 September.
NONGSHIM REDFORCE: Don't Sleep on Them
If you need one team outside the usual names to keep tabs on, make it NONGSHIM REDFORCE.
They already have a major international trophy from 2026 after winning Masters Santiago, where they beat Paper Rex 3–0 in the Grand Final. They then carried their form into VCT Pacific Stage 2, reaching the Grand Final and securing their place at Champions Shanghai.
Calling a Masters-winning team an underdog might be pushing it. Calling them a team you really don’t want to underestimate? Much safer.
How to Watch VALORANT Champions 2026 in Singapore
Good news for Singapore viewers: you won’t need to completely destroy your sleep schedule to follow Champions Shanghai.
Shanghai and Singapore are both on UTC+8, which means the broadcast times in Shanghai line up neatly with Singapore Time. The opening matches, for example, kick off at 9am and 12pm SGT, with Paper Rex vs Team Liquid getting the tournament started at 9am on 24 September.
You can follow the tournament through VALORANT Esports and Riot’s official broadcast channels:
- VALORANT Esports: Official schedule, results, Pick'Ems and tournament information
- Twitch: Official VALORANT broadcasts
- YouTube: Official VALORANT broadcasts
Keep an eye on the official VALORANT Esports channels for any additional co-streams and Watch Parties announced during Champions.
Get Rewards While You Watch
There’s another reason to watch live beyond witnessing someone hit a shot you’ll immediately convince yourself you could replicate in ranked.
Riot has confirmed Champions Shanghai Drops, including an exclusive Champions Title for viewers who tune in live.
Pick’Ems powered by AWS are also back, letting you predict tournament results and compare your apparently flawless competitive VALORANT knowledge with everyone else’s. For Champions Shanghai, Pick’Ems are available through the VALORANT Esports website, the VALORANT client and, for the first time, Riot Mobile.
And if simply watching isn’t interactive enough, Shotcall returns on Twitch. The live prediction extension lets viewers make calls on maps, rounds and clutch moments as they happen, earning points and climbing the leaderboard along the way.
In other words: watch the match, make your predictions, collect your Drops and then explain afterwards that your completely ruined Pick’Ems were actually the result of several statistically unlikely upsets.
Why Your Connection Matters When You Jump Back Into VALORANT
Watching the pros land impossible shots is one thing. Jumping back into ranked afterwards and discovering that you are, in fact, not Jinggg is another.
In a tactical shooter like VALORANT, connection quality matters. Think: Ping, Lag, Latency, and more. Ping measures how long it takes data to travel between you and the game server, while latency is the delay between your actions and the server receiving them. Then there’s jitter, which can make your connection feel inconsistent even when your average ping looks perfectly respectable.
That’s why we built MyRepublic GAMER Broadband with Custom Network Routing, designed to optimise the path gaming traffic takes to game servers and deliver a smoother, low-latency gaming experience.
It won’t give you Jinggg’s aim. We’re a broadband provider, not miracle workers.
But when every millisecond counts, having a connection built with gaming in mind certainly doesn’t hurt.
Who Will Lift the Champions Trophy?
From regional champions and Masters winners to teams arriving in Shanghai with something to prove, VALORANT Champions 2026 has no shortage of contenders.
For Singapore fans, though, it’s hard not to keep one eye firmly on Paper Rex. They’ve come painfully close before, and after another season spent battling among VALORANT’s best, Champions gives PRX one more chance to turn an international run into the trophy everyone wants.
Whatever happens, we’re getting several weeks of top-level VALORANT before the 2026 world champion is finally crowned on 18 October.
