The first weekend of September finally revealed which teams will be heading to Shanghai to battle for the Valorant world championship trophy. While every team has at least a theoretical chance of winning, 1xBet Philippines esports experts see several clear favorites for the year’s biggest tournament.
Valorant Champions 2026 format and participants
Riot Games is known for the variety of locations it chooses for the annual Valorant world championship. The inaugural Champions was held in Berlin, followed by Istanbul, while subsequent editions brought the world’s best teams to Los Angeles, Seoul, and Paris. Valorant Champions 2026 will be held across two major venues in Shanghai – Jing’an Sports Center and Mercedes-Benz Arena.
With a $2.25 million prize pool, Valorant Champions 2026 will run from September 24 to October 18. Sixteen teams were invited to the tournament: the top two from each of the four major regional leagues (Americas, China, EMEA, Pacific), plus two additional sides from each league with the highest Championship Points.
The following teams qualified for this year’s world championship:
- Americas: 100 Thieves, LOUD, NRG, G2 Esports
- China: TYLOO, JD Gaming, EDward Gaming, XLG Esports
- EMEA: Karmine Corp, Team Liquid, FUT Esports, Team Vitality
- Pacific: Global Esports, Nongshim RedForce, Paper Rex, T1
The 16 participants were drawn into four groups, with each featuring one team from every region based on seeding.
Following a double-elimination group stage, the top two from each group advance to the playoffs. The playoffs also use a double-elimination format, meaning teams can afford one loss before being eliminated.
Valorant Champions 2026 main favorites
Competitive Valorant has been incredibly unpredictable this season. No team has won more than one regional split, with a different winner emerging at each of the three stages.
The international tournaments have been just as unpredictable: Pacific representative Nongshim RedForce won VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026, while Leviatán from the Americas claimed the title at the VALORANT Masters London 2026 but later failed to qualify for Valorant Champions 2026! Making an accurate prediction under these circumstances is no easy task, but analysts at the 1xBet legit platform have tackled even tougher challenges.
Paper Rex tops the list of potential favorites, with its roster featuring our player, Adrian “invy” Reyes. The team has reached two consecutive Masters finals this season and won VALORANT Masters Toronto 2025. Three years ago, Paper Rex reached the grand final of VALORANT Champions 2023, ultimately finishing as runner-up, and now has a strong chance of claiming its first title in 2026. One of its main rivals could be Nongshim RedForce, which won both the first split and the season’s first Masters before qualifying for the world championship as the second-best team in its regional league.
Reigning world champion NRG also deserves a mention. The American team did not particularly impress in regional competition, finishing third in all three splits. Still, it reached the grand final of the Esports World Cup 2026, where it lost to fellow American team 100 Thieves. Global Esports, with two Filipino players on its roster, Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza and Xavier “xavi8k” Juan, could also spring a surprise. The same goes for China’s top teams TYLOO and XLG Esports, as well as European representative Team Liquid.
Follow the top esports tournament, Valorant Champions 2026, from September 24 to October 18 with 1xBet!
