The playoffs at VALORANT Champions Shanghai get under way on Wednesday 7 October, with T1 against NRG and Paper Rex against LOUD on the opening day of an eight-team double-elimination bracket. Nongshim RedForce and Team Vitality follow on Thursday.
The field was settled at the end of a group stage that ran from 24 September to 4 October at the Jing’an Sports Center. The regional split is lopsided. According to Inven Global, all four Americas teams progressed. Three of the four Pacific sides also went through: Paper Rex, T1 and Nongshim RedForce.
EMEA has one team left. Team Vitality are its only representative in the bracket. The hosts fared worse still: every one of the four teams from China’s CN region was eliminated in the groups, leaving the home crowd without a local side for the rest of the event.
100 Thieves and Paper Rex arrive unbeaten
Among the Americas contingent, 100 Thieves came through without losing a single map. Paper Rex finished Group C undefeated, though both of their wins went the distance: 2-1 against Team Liquid and 2-1 against G2.
Nongshim RedForce are making their first appearance at Champions. They come into Shanghai as the winners of Masters Santiago 2026, and they also finished as runners-up at the VCT Pacific Finals in Busan. Vitality now stand between them and a place in the upper bracket semi-finals.
Opening fixtures on 7 and 8 October
Wednesday’s double header pits two Pacific teams against two from the Americas. T1 take on NRG, while Paper Rex face LOUD. On Thursday, 8 October, Nongshim RedForce play Team Vitality, a match that also decides whether EMEA keeps a presence in the upper bracket.
Because the format is double elimination, defeat in these openers does not end a team’s tournament. Losers drop to the lower bracket and need to keep winning there to stay alive, while the winners move a step closer to the grand final.
For European viewers, Vitality’s run is now the region’s only interest in the title race. Their Thursday match with the Masters Santiago champions is the next fixture to watch.
Read also: T1 sweep FUT to reach first VALORANT Champions playoffs as LOUD join them
