After having guest teams shock the world at VCT Champions, China is finally being incorporated into the main professional VALORANT circuit starting in 2024. With 11 hungry rosters ready to join VCT’s newest league, VCT China will be an intense battle from the start.
Each of the four VCT regions—China, Americas, Pacific, and EMEA—will begin with Kickoff tournaments to start the 2024 VALORANT season, following a double-elimination bracket to decide the two teams from each region that will play at Masters Madrid. In contrast to 2023, there is no rotational regional play this year before Masters.
The lack of regional play means that in other leagues, rivalries from previous seasons should set the tone for opening Kickoff matches. However, unless you’ve been following Chinese VALORANT closely before now, these storylines are still unwritten. The VCT also has a new point system for 2024 that rewards consistency across the entire season, starting from day one.
VCT China Kickoff bracket and format
The VCT China Kickoff tournament runs from Feb. 22 to March 2. The eleven teams have been divided into three groups:
- Group A: TYLOO, Trace Esports, FunPlus Phoenix, Nova Esports
- Group B: JD Gaming, Titan Esports Club, All Gamers, Dragon Ranger Gaming
- Group C: Wolves Esports, Bilibili Gaming, EDward Gaming
The Kickoff tournament for VCT China is structured virtually the same as the three other regions. In each region, the team with the best performance from 2023 receives a bye in the first group stage round. In the case of VCT China, even though most of these teams never got the chance to play in the VCT, EDward Gaming will get this bye due to their performance at Champions 2023 in Los Angeles.
After the group stage, the first-place team from each group will advance to the semifinals, while the second-place team from each group will move to the play-ins. The final stage is the Playoffs, which include the semifinals and the grand finals match. The top two teams from the region will both represent China at Masters Madrid.
VCT China Kickoff standings
As above, the top two squads at VCT China Kickoff will be locked in for a spot at Masters Madrid in mid-March. Here are the full standings for VCT China Kickoff:
| Placement | Team | Prize |
| First | TBD | Masters Madrid Qualification |
| Second | TBD | Masters Madrid Qualification |
| Third | TBD, TBD | |
| Fifth | TBD | |
| Sixth | TBD | |
| Seventh | TBD, TBD, TBD | |
| 10th | TYLOO, All Gamers |
VCT China Kickoff tournament schedule and matches
Group Stage
Thursday, Feb. 22 (Group A)
- 3am CT: TYLOO 0-2 Trace
- 6am CT: Nova 0-2 FPX
Friday, Feb. 23 (Groups B and C)
- 1am CT: Titan 2-0 JDG
- 4am CT: All Gamers 0-2 DRG
- 7am CT: Wolves 2-0 Bilibili
Saturday, Feb. 24
- 3am CT: Nova 2-0 TYLOO
- Group A Elimination match. Winner moves to Decider, loser is eliminated.
- 6am CT: JDG 2-0 All Gamers
- Group B Elimination match. Winner moves to Decider, loser is eliminated.
Sunday, Feb. 25
- 1am CT: Trace 2-1 FPX
- Group A Winners’ match. Winner moves to Playoff semifinals, loser falls to Decider.
- 4am CT: DRG 2-1 Titan
- Group B Winners ‘match. Winner moves to Playoff semifinals, loser falls to Decider.
- 7am CT: EDG 2-1 Wolves
- Group C Winners’ match. Winner moves to Playoff semifinals, loser falls to Decider.
Monday, Feb. 26
- 1am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- Group A Decider match. Winner moves to Play-In, loser is eliminated.
- 4am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- Group B Decider match. Winner moves to Play-In, loser is eliminated.
- 7am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- Group C Decider match. Winner moves to Play-In, loser is eliminated.
Play-In
Tuesday, Feb. 27
- 1am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- 2nd Group A vs. 2nd Group B
- 4am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- 2nd Group B vs. 2nd Group C
- 7am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- 2nd Group A vs. 2nd Group C
Semifinals
Friday, March 1
- 3am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner progresses to grand final, loser is eliminated.
- 6am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner progresses to grand final, loser is eliminated.
Grand Final
Saturday, March 2
- 3am CT: TBD vs. TBD
- Grand final.
