VCT EMEA Announces Key Changes to Ascension and New 'Blender Spotlight' Prize Pool

A year of VCT action is headed to its grand conclusion in EMEA with Stage 2 finals weekend already underway. Meanwhile, changes are brewing in the Tier-2 scene in the region as updates arrive to the format and schedule of the VCT EMEA Ascension 2025 tournament, while the prize pool of the mixed-gender competition Blender Spotlight is revealed.

Ascension Heads to the Riot Games Arena

Credit: Riot Games

First off, the VCT EMEA has announced that its 2025 Ascension tournament will start one day earlier than anticipated. This means that the race to make it into the VCT EMEA 2026 is set to begin on Saturday, October 18th.

That's not all, though. This year, the Ascension tournament in EMEA will feature a brand new format. Instead of 6, a total of 8 teams will now advance to Playoffs, where they will then be split into two GSL groups before two final Bo5 matches to decide which two teams will qualify for the VCT EMEA 2026.

Yes, that's right, 2 teams will Ascend at the end of this year to VCT EMEA 2026.

Moreover, this time around, all teams will compete from the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, further elevating the Ascension experience.

Blender Spotlight: Mixed Gender, Winner-Takes-All

Credit: Project Blender

Two months ago, Riot Games revealed Project Blender: an open-to-all-players event in EMEA as part of the VCT Partner Series. The tournament will take place across a total of four phases, with Phase 1 featuring a whopping 1024 teams.

As a part of the event, Blender Spotlight will allow mixed-gender rosters to compete on November 3rd-4th in a winner-takes-all event featuring a €10,000 prize pool. The winners of Blender Spotlight will qualify directly to Phase 3 of Project Blender, while second and third place teams will head for Phase 2.

To wrap it all up, the final four teams at Project Blender will head to Paris. There, the champions will be crowned in a LAN Finals weekend taking place on December 13th-14th.

Check out Strafe Esports for all the latest VALORANT news and our X account for the latest content and coverage. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

Feature image credit: Riot Games

Read more:

Pro City Is Returning to VALORANT: What We Know About Tarik's Plans

All the Winners of the Esports Awards 2025