We’re entering the final stretch of the inaugural year of the VALORANT Champions Tour. The NA VCT Stage Three Challengers Playoffs will conclude regional-only play for North America in the VCT, with only international events remaining in Masters Three Berlin and the world championship in Champions. The Challengers Playoffs begin on Aug. 11, with more than just three spots in Berlin on the line.
The teams that reach Berlin have the opportunity to leapfrog Version1 in the NA VCT standings. The team that makes it the furthest will likely secure the second spot in the rankings, thus ensuring a direct spot at Champions. Of course, the team that wins Berlin gets a direct spot at Champions regardless. So if an NA team were to win Berlin, that’d mean four teams would represent the region at Champions.
As for the Last Chance Qualifier, four teams are fighting it out for three remaining spots: Gen.G, Cloud9 Blue, TSM, and Rise. With both TSM and Rise still competing, they control their own destiny at Challengers Playoffs.
Participating teams
The eight competing teams consist of the top four from Challengers One, as well as the top four teams from Challengers Two. The teams will be matched up in the first round based on their final placements from their respective Challengers events. Thus, first place from Challengers One will face the fourth-place squad from Challengers Two.
Challengers One teams
- Sentinels
- XSET
- 100 Thieves
- Team Envy
Challengers Two teams
- TSM
- FaZe Clan
- Luminosity Gaming
- Rise
Bracket
The NA VCT Stage Three Challengers Playoffs will use a double-elimination bracket. All matches will be best-of-three series except for the grand finals, which will be a best-of-five. The top three teams will advance to Masters Three Berlin. Teams will need to reach either the upper bracket final or the lower bracket final to qualify.
All eight teams are competing for a $100,000 prize pool, with $40,000 going to the first-place finisher. The teams are also competing for VCT points needed to qualify for Champions at the end of the year. The teams that finish with a top-eight placing will earn 40 VCT points, top-six will earn 50 VCT points, and fourth place will take home 60 VCT points. The top three won’t earn any points directly from this event but will get at least 175 points at Masters. The teams at Masters can earn up to 375 points or a direct spot at Champions if they come in first.
Sentinels, 100 Thieves, and Team Envy have all secured a top-three finish and a spot at Masters Three Berlin.
- 1st: Sentinels (VCT Points TBD at Masters Three Berlin)
- 2nd: 100 Thieves (VCT Points TBD at Masters Three Berlin)
- 3rd: Team Envy (VCT Points TBD at Masters Three Berlin)
- 4th: XSET (60 VCT Points)
- 5th/6th: Rise (50 VCT Points)
- 5th/6th: FaZe Clan (50 VCT Points)
- 7th/8th: TSM (40 VCT Points)
- 7th/8th: Luminosity (40 VCT Points)
Schedule
All times are in CT and subject to change or delays.
Aug. 11
- Upper bracket round one
- Sentinels 2-1 Rise (SEN 13-3 Breeze, Rise 13-7 Ascent, SEN 13-4 Bind)
- Team Envy 2-1 TSM (Envy 13-7 Haven, TSM 13-11 Breeze, Envy 13-8 Ascent)
- 100 Thieves 2-0 FaZe Clan (100T 13-6 Haven, 13-9 Breeze)
- XSET 2-0 Luminosity (XSET 13-6 Haven, 13-5 Split)
- Upper bracket round one (Masters Three Berlin qualifying round)
- Sentinels 2-0 Team Envy (SEN 13-11 Icebox, 13-11 Haven)
- 100T 2-0 XSET (100T 13-11 Haven, 13-11 Ascent)
Aug. 12
- Lower bracket round one
- Rise 2-1 TSM (TSM 13-10 Split, Rise 13-6 Haven, Rise 13-5 Breeze)
- FaZe 2-1 Luminosity (LG 13-8 Ascent, FaZe 13-6 Split, FaZe 13-9 Bind)
- Lower bracket round two
- Envy 2-1 FaZe (FaZe 14-12 Haven, Envy 13-10 Bind, Envy 13-8 Ascent)
- XSET 2-1 Rise (Rise 13-7 Haven, XSET 13-10 Split, XSET 13-7 Ascent)
Aug. 13
- 4pm CT: Upper bracket final
- Sentinels 2-0 100 Thieves (SEN 13-2 Split, 13-8 Haven)
- 6:30pm CT: Lower bracket round three (Masters Three Berlin qualifying round)
- Envy 2-0 XSET (Envy 13-11 Ascent, 13-7 Haven)
Aug. 14
- 2pm CT: Lower bracket final
- 100T 3-2 Envy (Envy 13-5 Haven, 100T 13-10 Breeze, 100T 13-10 Ascent, Envy 13-8 Icebox, 100T 13-5 Split)
Aug. 15
- 2pm CT: Grand finals (best-of-five)
- Sentinels 3-1 100 Thieves (Sentinels 13-11 Bind, 100T 13-11 Breeze, Sentinels 13-6 Haven, Sentinels 13-5 Split)
