Valorant Esports News

Gentle Mates player Martin “marteen” Pátek has been a revelation this VCT EMEA season thus far. After a shattering performance tonight, the French phenom was a vital reason Gentle Mates (M8) have now qualified over Fnatic and are bound for Masters Santiago later this month. After the heartbreak that was yesterday’s 5-map series against BBL which saw the Turkish side qualify ahead of their opposition as the 1st seed to Santiago, M8 was thrust with little rest time into a second Bo5 (Best-of-five) series against a rapidly mounting Fnatic looking to qualify for their first-ever Kickoff tournament. In a bidmore

FURIA stunned the Valorant community with a dramatic 3-2 victory over MIBR in the VCT Americas Kickoff Grand Final, securing the region’s first seed at Masters Santiago 2026. After a year without a win, the revitalized roster completed a flawless lower bracket run, overcoming the aspas-led superteam in a tense five-map thriller.

BBL find victory over Gentle Mates at the eleventh hour after a length Bo5 series in the VCT EMEA Kickoff Upper Finals. The Turkish roster is now set to attend Masters Santiago later this month.

With Masters Santiago just around the corner, the VCT 2026 Season Capsule is expected to arrive soon. Images and animation videos of its melee weapon have already begun circulating online. According to recent leaks, the melee appears to be a Sigil Knife.

After a crushing final week of the 2026 LEC Versus Regular Season, where Los Ratones just barely missed out on qualifying for Playoffs, Caedrel has now announced that the team is officially coming to an end.

For the first time in VCT EMEA history, the production is taking off from the Berlin studio. The Stage 2 finals are set to be hosted in Barcelona, from August 28th to the 30th at the Olímpic Arena in Badalona.

Riot Games is giving players another reason to celebrate the Year of the Horse. The developers have officially revealed the "Run It Back: Lunar 26" capsule, a special edition of the fan-favorite bundle series designed to coincide with the Lunar New Year festivities.

Less than a month after its official release, Riot Games has announced significant layoffs affecting the development team of its fighting game, 2XKO. The announcement, made on February 9, 2026, signals a strategic pivot for the title as the publisher attempts to stabilize the game’s future following a launch that seemingly fell short of internal expectations.

VALORANT Solarstride skin bundle introduces new skins to the Vandal, the Guardian, and a flamethrower melee weapon in Patch 12.02.

Fnatic found themselves in a repeated matchup against another Turkish roster following their loss in Week 1 to BBL. Faced against FUT, it was imperative for Fnatic to begin winning if they wished to keep their dreams of Santiago qualification alive – and win they did. What began as a one-sided affair for Fnatic quickly shifted as FUT rallied back to force the series to go the full distance. While Fnatic eventually emerged as the victor, it was far from a clean win. Following the conclusion of their series, Strafe Esports sat down with Fnatic IGL and captain Jake “Boaster” Howlett to reflect on the close nature of the series, Fnatic’s run at Kickoff thus far, the challenges of the off-season, expectations carried by the roster, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

The Esports World Cup Federation (EWCF) has launched the Road to EWC, a global qualifying circuit featuring connecting publisher leagues, international events, and grassroots qualifiers into one cohesive season-long journey to Riyadh.

VALORANT Patch 12.02 targets two Agents: Harbor and Reyna. Harbor gets positive tweaks to establish him as a viable Controller, while Reyna absorbs several nerfs to reduce her ranked dominance.

Earlier today, February 1st, Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza set a VCT record for the highest ACS on a single map. Playing against Detonation FocusMe, the former Paper Rex and current Global Esports player put up a statistical masterpiece that helped his team dominate the first map. PatMen’s Statistical Masterpiece: 516 ACS // 6.4 K/D // 100% KAST Facing each other in the 2026 VCT Pacific Kickoff middle bracket, Global Esports faced Detonation FocusMe. But what happened on Breeze wasn’t foreseen bymore

Team Liquid’s battle against Karmine Corp was a show of determination and grit. After a close series loss the previous week to Team Vitality, Liquid found themselves now in the Middle Bracket of VCT EMEA Kickoff with two lives left to battle to Santiago. Backs against the wall after a dismal Map 1 performance, Liquid turned their fortunes around to complete the reverse sweep, propelling themselves with their first official win of the season. Following the conclusion of their series, Strafe Esports sat down with Team Liquid IGL and captain Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin to reflect on the series as a whole, the challenges of heading into a new season with a substitute for Week 1, his evolution as a leader for the team, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

VALORANT Night Market will return in Season 2026 Act 1 on February 5th and continue until March 2nd.

The inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) is scheduled to commence in November 2026, backed by a $45 million commitment from the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) in the form of prize money, incentives, and development funds.

Team Vitality’s clash against Team Liquid in the Upper Bracket of VCT EMEA Kickoff proved to be the first real test for the squad, going the full distance in an all-out brawl between the two teams. Vitality eventually emerged as the victor, placing them two series wins away from qualifying for Masters Santiago. Following their series win, Strafe Esports sat down with Team Vitality’s Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, who spoke on the series as a whole, the team’s preparation coming into Kickoff, his thoughts on the new crop of teams taking over the EMEA stage and more in this exclusive interview.

s1mple and BC.Game kick off their IEM Krakow campaign with a stunning 2-0 victory over Legacy, featuring a first-map comeback from an 11-2 deficit.

In a significant legal blow to the operator of the world’s largest PC gaming platform, a UK court has ruled that a £656 million (approx. $900 million) class-action lawsuit against Valve Corporation can proceed to trial. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 14 million UK Steam users, alleges that Valve has abused its dominant market position to overcharge gamers.

Tyson "TenZ" Ngo has officially unveiled the finalists for his VALORANT Community Awards, and the list features some of the biggest names from both the VCT and Game Changers circuits. Players and coaches from across the competitive scene voted to determine who'd earn a spot in the final running, and now it's down to the wire before the live ceremony hits on February 4th. This isn't your typical esports awards show. The whole thing came together through a partnership betweenmore