Riot Games has unveiled the format for the VCT EMEA Clash 2026, a mid-season tournament featuring VCT and Challengers teams.
The first-of-its-kind format will see 12 teams compete across two simultaneous, yet intertwined double-elimination brackets inspired by VALORANT’s Alpha and Omega challenge.
Its inaugural edition will take place during the break between VCT EMEA Kickoff and Masters Santiago, the first global VCT event of the year. From February 19th to 25th, six VCT teams will face off against six Challengers squads, each representing one of the six Challengers EMEA sub-regions.
The VCT representatives will hail from the pool of nine teams that didn’t qualify for Masters Santiago.
Initially announced in December last year, the VCT EMEA Clash is part of Riot Games’ goal of creating more high-stakes competitive opportunities for the region’s tier-two Challengers circuit.
VCT EMEA Clash Format & Draw
The 12 EMEA Clash competitors will be placed into the brackets based on their previous performance:
- The top four teams from VCT EMEA Kickoff (excluding Masters Santiago participants) will earn a direct bye into Round 2 of the bracket.
- The remaining eight teams — 2 from VCT EMEA and six from Challengers — will be placed into a randomised draw.
- This draw will guarantee that the two VCT teams in the pool are seeded in different brackets.
While the two double-elimination brackets will run simultaneously, they will also be “interconnected’ from Round 2 onwards.
If a team loses in the Upper Bracket of Alpha, they will drop into the Lower Bracket of Omega. On the flip side, a team losing in the Omega bracket will drop into the Alpha bracket before facing elimination.
At the end of each bracket will await a final series, determining the Alpha and Omega Champion, respectively.
