Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 1 is beginning to wind down across the globe, and the frontrunners from each region at this point of the year are emerging. The next stop on the 2026 international roadmap is Masters London, set to kick off on June 6^th. 

12 Teams Bound for London

Just as in the previous Masters events, each region has received 3 slots, determined by the top placements in each region’s playoffs. There are some familiar faces in attendance, others brand-new to the international stage.

Region	Seed	Team Qualified
VCT Americas	1st
	2nd
	3rd
VCT EMEA	1st	Team Heretics
	2nd	Team Vitality
	3rd	FUT Esports
VCT PACIFIC	1st	Paper Rex
	2nd	FULL SENSE
	3rd	Global Esports
VCT CHINA	1st	EDward Gaming
	2nd	XLG Esports
	3rd	Dragon Ranger Gaming

New Masters, Brand New Narratives

VCT Americas:

Team	Attending Roster
G2 Esports	valyn, trent, leaf, jawgemo, babybay
Leviatán	spikeziN, Sato, Neon, kiNgg, blowz

{To be written...}

VCT EMEA:

Team	Attending Roster
Team Heretics	Wo0t, RieNs, Koshmaras, Boo, benjyfishy
Team Vitality	Sayonara, PROFEK, Jamppi, Derke, Chronicle
FUT Esports	yetujey, xeus, sociablEE, s0pp, KROSTALY

Over in EMEA, the pecking order has clearly been shaken up. Notably, not only did none of the Santiago teams qualify, but they were in fact eliminated early in the Playoffs, with Gentle Mates making it the furthest. Three new claimants have risen as representatives for Masters London, perhaps marking EMEA as the region of continued evolution. 

VCT Pacific:

Team	Attending Roster
Paper Rex	invy, d4v41, f0rsakeN, Jinggg, something
FULL SENSE	Leviathan, JitboyS, killua, Primmie, Crws
Global Esports	xavi8k, UdoTan, PatMen, Kr1stal, autumn

VCT Pacific has been particularly tasty this Stage 1. Not only are there fresh faces bound for London, but notably no Korean teams will be in attendance, marking a first in VCT history. Global Esports made headlines last week with their qualifying match, against Paper Rex of all teams. The former Talon roster, now FULL SENSE, return to the international stage after an impressive Stage 1 run. And then there is the APAC staple, Paper Rex, almost a fixture for deep international runs in modern VALORANT. 

VCT China:

Team	Attending Roster
EDward Gaming	CHICHOO, ZmjjKK, Jieni7, nobody, Smoggy
XLG Esports	WsLeo, Rarga, NoMan, Lysoar
Dragon Ranger Gaming	vo0kashu, Life, Nicc, SpiritZ1, Flex1n

VCT China has proven interesting this past Stage 1. While 2 out of 3 of the same teams that attended Santiago are once again in attendance in London, the order has shifted. Most notably EDG and XLG, who are the repeat contenders, blazed their way through both the Group Stage and Playoffs in sharp form.

The Final Test Before 2026 Champions

Masters London is not just the second international event of the year. For most teams, it's the final chance to test their mettle against the best teams in the world and finalize their identity ahead of Champions Shanghai later this year.

Crucially, the look of competitive VALORANT has shifted drastically in the few months since Masters Santiago. The team that was eventually crowned champion of the event, Nongshim RedForce, utilized Neon as the core engine of their strategy. 

However, teams will not have the same Neon heading into London. Patch 12.09 is already live for competitive and it is expected to carry into London. Targetting both Neon and the various shotguns, we should see a more variety in team compositions as compared to most of Stage 1 globally where Neon has dominated for the past 2 months. 

Masters London is set to kick off on June 6th at the Copper Box Arena. Of the 12 teams participating at this event, 8 of them will begin their journey in the Swiss Stage. And of those,only the top 4 teams will survive this and meet the 1st seed representatives from each region in an all-out Playoffs Double Elimination Bracket. 

Keep an eye on the Strafe news feed as we lead into Masters London. We have plenty more pieces of content coming your way so don't go too far!

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Featured Image Credit: Riot Games