Final weekend’s VCT Americas matches sparked heated discussions inside the international VALORANT esports neighborhood. With LOUD’s profitable darkish horse run within the Stage 2 Decrease Playoffs Bracket all the best way to a second-place end, Masters London winner Leviatán was pushed out of VALORANT Champions qualification.
The Argentinian esports group has now grow to be the primary staff to win a Masters occasion and nonetheless miss out on Champions in the identical yr. This has led some VCT followers and professionals to advocate for revised qualification guidelines, particularly across the distribution of VCT factors.
Others, nonetheless, have argued that Leviatán alone is accountable for his or her disappointing finish to the season. So, the place lies the reality? Is VCT’s qualification path to Champions flawed?
How did Leviatán miss out on Champions 2026?
With the Masters London trophy underneath its belt, Leviatán was thought-about a assured Champions participant by many heading into VCT Americas Stage 2.
Due to its second place in Stage 1 (7 factors) and its Masters title (8 factors), the staff had already collected 15 VCT Factors in whole. That was greater than NRG (11 factors) and G2 Esports (14 factors) had on the time, though each organizations had a a lot stronger begin to the VCT 2026 season in comparison with Leviatán.
For Leviatán to overlook out on Champions Shanghai in September, darkish horses with few factors needed to attain the top-2 whereas different traditionally robust rosters went on deep Stage 2 runs.
And that is precisely what occurred.
NRG and G2 Esports made it far into the Stage 2 Playoffs, incomes a further 10 and seven factors, respectively, for 21 factors in whole. Underdog 100 Thieves dominated within the Higher Playoffs Bracket and secured a top-2 end early on.
In the meantime, Leviatán misplaced its third Playoffs collection to G2 Esports, leaving the staff with solely 4 further factors from its Stage 2 efficiency (19 in whole) and unable to qualify for Champions through a top-2 placement.
The ultimate piece of Leviatán’s nightmare puzzle was the younger and hungry roster of LOUD. In entrance of its house crowd in São Paulo, the Brazilian squad defeated giants G2 Esports and NRG to ensure not less than second place in Stage 2.
With that, 100 Thieves and LOUD had been in. NRG and G2 Esports took the area’s third and fourth seeds for Shanghai, and Leviatán was left behind with simply 2 VCT Factors much less.
Leviatán or the factors system: Who’s at fault?
What feels so off about Leviatán failing to qualify for Champions 2026 is that that is really a prime staff with the potential to go on a run in Shanghai. On the identical time, Leviatán’s area, VCT Americas, turned out extremely aggressive in direction of the latter third of the season. Leviatán is a prime roster globally — in Americas, it is only one of many prime groups.
“The one factor that you just take away from that is simply that Americas is completely stacked, to be trustworthy. For this to occur, this area is actually, actually good. Like, they should be the most effective area for this to occur,” emphasized former Staff Liquid coach Connor “Sliggy” Blomfield on the VALORANT speak present Plat Chat.
That is considerably unfortunate for Leviatán. If the staff had competed in a unique area, maybe it might have had higher probabilities in Stage 2. The identical sentiment applies to the roster’s season kickoff. Attributable to age restrictions, Leviatán needed to begin VCT Americas Kickoff with out one in all its star rookies and Masters London MVP Bruno “Neon” Rodríguez. Consequently, the squad was eradicated early with out incomes a single VCT Level.
The opposite facet of this story is that Leviatán banned its finest maps, Haven and Break up, and diverted from its trusted Neon-Phoenix duelist combo firstly of the Stage 2 Playoffs. Groups which have already locked in qualification do that to follow totally different staff compositions and maps in low-stakes official matches.
However Leviatán was not certified but and paid the worth.
“They had been prepping for Champs, however not in Champs. They’re accountable,” concluded Sliggy on Plat Chat. “It’s a must to blame your self. […] Since you’re not totally in but. You’ll be able to’t be considering like that. Like, these things occurs. You at all times need it to be in your management. To ban Break up, a map you’re like 11-0 at, finest on the earth by far towards 100 Thieves, is insanity.”
To some extent, I agree with those arguing that Leviatán’s story is an outlier case and subsequently not indicative of a broader VCT format drawback. However, the VCT panorama has modified considerably lately.
For example, meta shifts and map pool modifications have grow to be rather more frequent within the 2025 and 2026 VCT seasons in comparison with the inaugural years of VALORANT esports.
This makes the annual aggressive calendar really feel extra crowded, particularly for groups that attend international occasions. They spend extra time competing on stage, shrinking an already small window to make strategic changes in response to recreation updates.
Consequently, historic achievements reminiscent of Fnatic’s back-to-back worldwide trophies in 2023 are seen by means of a unique lens these days.
“LEV successful Masters 2 months in the past and nonetheless lacking Champs actually highlights a flaw on this circuit format,” wrote VALORANT coach Hoc Wah “Fayde” Chong on social media. “With how frequent the meta modifications in Val, this punishes the staff that performs properly early within the season as a result of hectic schedules & lack of preparation for a brand new break up.”
It has undoubtedly grow to be more difficult for VCT groups to remain constant all through one season. This development will seemingly solely intensify in subsequent yr’s flat and open VCT structure. And but, the VCT Factors system nonetheless rewards late-season highs and consistency probably the most.
“What this comes all the way down to in the end is that riot views successful a regional stage to be higher than a world,” deduced one X (previously Twitter) person.
As identified by Dragon Ranger Gaming’s Splash, it’s doable for groups to stack extra factors by means of regional successes than by means of worldwide wins within the present system. For instance, G2 Esports earned 9 factors in Stage 1 — 6 for successful the occasion, plus 1 extra level for each Group Stage match received.
In the meantime, Leviatán obtained solely 8 factors for its Masters London trophy, with no extra rewards for its flawless Swiss Stage efficiency.
I personally consider that is considerably unjust, as successful a world VCT trophy is a considerably greater problem than dominating regionally.
How might VCT qualification guidelines be adjusted?
Finally, I believe two issues might be true on the identical time. Sure, given the present qualification system, Leviatán shouldn’t have banned their two finest maps throughout essential Playoffs matches. It was the staff’s determination, and the staff is accountable for the implications.
That doesn’t make the system itself flawless, nonetheless. For perspective, if we used the qualification ruleset for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, then Leviatán, because the Masters London champion, would have certified for Champions Shanghai by advancing to the Stage 2 Playoffs.
“Wtf is this method? Certainly we give a staff who wins worldwide assured slot subsequent yr,” asserted Martin “Magnum” Peňkov, skilled participant for Enterprise Esports.
In my view, borrowing from League of Legends’ guidelines can be center floor as a substitute of giving out Champions slots to all Masters-winning groups. This might imply that Champions qualification is tied to 2 circumstances: successful a world VCT trophy and performing properly within the regional stage thereafter.
Others within the VALORANT esports scene, together with DRG Splash, have advised growing the variety of VCT Factors awarded for successful a Masters title to not less than 10. This might put extra emphasis on international performances than on regional runs.
Both method, changes to the qualification system are warranted, for my part. Meta modifications are extra frequent than ever, and subsequent yr’s aggressive construction will solely additional improve volatility inside the ecosystem. Taking a look at VCT 2027, large support payments will likely be on the road for non-partnered groups ought to they qualify for main occasions, reminiscent of Champions.
The format and qualification pathways have to do these developments justice.
