The 2024 Valorant esports season is starting with a kickoff tournament in all four international leagues with the top two teams from each qualifying for the first international event of the year, Masters Madrid. Here is all you need to know about VCT China
As the 2023 VCT season comes down with a bang with Evil Geniuses winning their rings, it saw China make huge strides. With EDward Gaming winning the region’s first series, and subsequently them and Bilibili Gaming stunning the world at Champions. And both of them are in the newly formed VCT China league.
Instead of having a kickoff tournament featuring every team in the VCT league ecosystem, each VCT league is going to hold its own kickoff tournaments. The top two teams from each 11-team league will then travel to Masters Madrid for the first major tournament of the year.
Below is everything we know so far about the VCT China kickoff tournament including where to watch, the teams participating, and the start date.
Contents
VCT China Kickoff: Stream
The VCT Pacific Kickoff tournament will be streamed on the league’s Twitch and YouTube. We’ve embedded the Twitch stream below for your convenience.
VCT China Kickoff: Format
All 11 teams will be seeded and split into three groups, meaning one group will feature only three teams. The highest-placing team from Valorant Champions 2023, in VCT China’s case EDward Gaming, will be placed in the group of three with a bye to the second round.
The remaining teams will be seeded based on 2023 performance and drawn into the remaining slots. The group stage will feature a double-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches. The top two teams from each group will move on to the next stage.
The second-place teams from each group will face off in a Play-In Stage and play each other once with the team with the best record moving on to the Playoff Stage with the top teams from each group.
The Playoff Stage will then crown two representatives for the league at Masters Madrid through a single elimination bracket.
VCT China Kickoff: Schedule
VCT China will start its Kickoff tournament on February 22 and conclude on March 2 with its Grand Finals concluding. Schedule is as follows:
- Group Stage: February 22-26
- Play-In: February 27
- Playoffs: March 1-2
VCT China Kickoff: Results
Group Stage: February 22-26
Group A
| Placement | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FunPlus Phoenix | 2-0 |
| 2 | Trace Esports | 1-1 |
| 3 | Nova Esports | 1-1 |
| 4 | TYLOO | 0-2 |
Group B
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| Placement | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragon Ranger Gaming | 2-0 |
| 2 | Titan Esport Club | 1-1 |
| 3 | JD Gaming | 1-1 |
| 4 | All Gamers | 0-2 |
Group C
| Placement | Teams | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EDward Gaming | 1-0 |
| 2 | Wolves Esports | 1-1 |
| 3 | Bilibili Gaming | 0-1 |
Day 1: February 22
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 1 | Trace 2-0 TYLOO | 1 AM | 4 AM | 9 AM |
| Group A Round 1 | FPX 2-0 Nova | 4 AM | 7 AM | 12 PM |
Day 2: February 23
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group B Round 1 | JDG 0-2 TEC | 10 PM | 1 AM | 6 AM |
| Group B Round 1 | DRG 2-0 AG | 1 AM | 4 AM | 9 AM |
| Group C Round 1 | BLG 0-2 WOL | 4 AM | 7 AM | 12 PM |
Day 3: February 24
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 3 | TYLOO 0-2 Nova | 10 PM | 1 AM | 6 AM |
| Group B Round 3 | JDG 2-0 AG | 4 AM | 7 AM | 12 PM |
Day 4: February 25
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 2 | Trace 1-2 FPX | 10 PM | 1 AM | 6 AM |
| Group B Round 2 | Titan 1-2 DRG | 1 AM | 4 AM | 9 AM |
| Group C Round 2 | EDG 2-1 Wolves | 4 AM | 7 AM | 12 PM |
Day 5: February 26
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Round 4 | Trace 2-0 Nova | 11 PM | 1 AM | 6 AM |
| Group B Round 4 | Titan 2-1 JD | 2 AM | 4 AM | 9 AM |
| Group C Round 3 | Wolves 0-2 BLG | 5 AM | 7 AM | 12 PM |
Play-In: February 27
Day 6: February 27
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play-ins | Trace 2-1 TEC | 10 PM | 1 AM | 6 AM |
| Play-ins | BLG 2-0 TEC | 1 AM | 4 AM | 9 AM |
| Play-ins | BLG 1-2 Trace | 4 AM | 7 AM | 12 PM |
Playoffs: March 1-2
Day 7: March 1
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semifinals | FPX 2-0 DRG | 1 AM | 4 AM | 9 AM |
| Semifinals | EDG 2-0 Trace | 3 AM | 6 AM | 11 PM |
Day 8: March 2
| Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Finals | FPX vs EDG | 1 AM | 4 AM | 9 AM |
VCT China Kickoff: Teams
Team rosters are not final as the transfer window is still open, and some teams have yet to announce their starting rosters. However, most of these teams have been practicing for months during the off-season and should be locked in for at least this tournament.
This event will be the first VCT China event ever as the 10 invited, with Dragon Ranger Gaming being promoted into the league via the Ascension tournament.
| Team | Players |
| All Gamers | Bunt, delb, Monk, Spitfires, sword9 |
| Bilibili Gaming | whzy, Biank, Knight, yosemite, B3Ar |
| EDward Gaming | Haodong, CHICHOO, nobody, ZmjjKK, Smoggy |
| FunPlusPhoenix | AAAAY, BerLIN, Lysoar, Autumn, Life |
| JD Gaming | YiHao, Viva, MarT1n, stew, jkuro |
| Nova Esports | o0o0o, OBONE, PangH, cb, GuanG |
| TYLOO | LuoK1ng, Ninebody, AAK, ICE, hfmi0dzjc9z7 |
| Titan Esports Club | B1ack, qiuye, Shameless, Sztwo, Abo |
| Trace Esports | FengF, Flex1n, HeiB, YoU, Kai |
| Wolves Esports | aluba, COLDFISH, pl1xx, Spring, Yuicaw |
| Dragon Ranger Gaming | TvirusLuke, Nicc, vo0kashu, Dingwei, TZH |