32 Partner Teams Down From 40 for VCT 2027-2028: Riot Games Retains Team Heretics and LOUD While Cutting Movistar KOI, Cloud9, and Gen.G
As the inaugural four-year franchising era of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) reaches its conclusion, Riot Games is executing a sweeping structural overhaul for the 2027-2028 partnership cycle. By reducing the global pool of long-term partnered organizations from 40 down to 32 teams (trimming each international league from 10 original partner slots to 8 partner teams), the publisher has forced a high-stakes shakeup: while Team Heretics, Fnatic, and LOUD have secured their spots for the next two years, major organizations including Movistar KOI, Cloud9, FURIA, DRX, and Gen.G have been left out of the guaranteed partner pool.
From Closed Franchising to an Open Circuit: Why Riot Games Cut Regions Down to 8 Partner Teams
Since the launch of the partnership era in 2023, top-flight competitive Valorant revolved around ten permanent partner organizations per international territory, supplemented temporarily by Ascension promotees. For the upcoming 2027-2028 cycle, Riot Games is dismantling that insulated barrier in favor of a performance-driven open circuit model designed to bridge Tier 1 and Tier 2 competition.
Under the 2027 format, each of the four international leagues (VCT EMEA, VCT Americas, VCT Pacific, and VCT China) features exactly 8 partner teams. Starting with the 2027 Kickoff tournament, those 8 partner squads will be joined directly by 4 teams advancing from Open Qualifiers to form a 12-team regional bracket. Crucially, missing out on a partnership slot no longer banishes an organization from Tier 1 contention: non-partnered teams can battle through regional cups and open qualifiers throughout the season to reach global Masters and Valorant Champions events, even though the VCT team capsule revenue sharing model showcased during Champions Shanghai remains a vital financial advantage reserved for the 32 partnered clubs.
VCT EMEA 2027-2028: Team Heretics, Fnatic, and BBL Esports Retained as Movistar KOI Misses Out
In Europe, the initial wave of partnership confirmations rewards both international tournament consistency and fanbase engagement. Team Heretics has officially confirmed its selection as a VCT EMEA partner team for the 2027-2028 cycle. Having established itself as one of EMEA’s premier contenders on the global stage over the past two seasons, the Spanish organization retains its status among the region’s eight anchor clubs.
Alongside Heretics, historical EMEA powerhouse Fnatic and Turkish organization BBL Esports have also secured their continuation in the partner program through 2028. Conversely, Movistar KOI has not been selected as a VCT EMEA partner team for the 2027-2028 cycle, closing the door on a partnership return following the organization’s previous contract termination in late 2025.
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VCT Americas and Pacific Shakeup: LOUD, Sentinels, and G2 Lock In Slots While Legacy Giants Are Cut
Across the Atlantic, the complete eight-team lineup for VCT Americas in 2027-2028 underscores just how unforgiving the reduction to 32 global slots has been. Brazilian powerhouse LOUD retains its partnership slot alongside Sentinels, NRG, 100 Thieves, Leviatán, KRÜ Esports, and MIBR. Meanwhile, following a dominant Ascension tenure and high-profile international runs including the recent clash between G2 Esports and Team Vitality at Valorant Champions, G2 Esports officially transitions into a full-fledged VCT Americas partner organization for the 2027-2028 cycle.
However, trimming the league to eight partner slots resulted in major casualties across both Americas and Asia. In VCT Americas, former partners Cloud9, FURIA, and Evil Geniuses were left out of the 2027-2028 partner pool, alongside applicants Shopify Rebellion and Mexican organization LYON. The turnover is equally dramatic in VCT Pacific: while Paper Rex, T1, Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ), Full Sense, and Crazy Raccoon secured partner slots, former mainstays DRX, Gen.G, ZETA DIVISION, DetonatioN FocusMe, Talon Esports, and Team Secret did not make the final eight-team partner roster and will have to compete through the open circuit.
| International League | Confirmed Partner Teams (2027-2028 Cycle) | Notable Organizations Left Out of Partnership |
|---|---|---|
| VCT EMEA (8 Slots) | Team Heretics, Fnatic, BBL Esports (remaining slots rolling out) | Movistar KOI |
| VCT Americas (8 Slots) | LOUD, Sentinels, NRG, G2 Esports, 100 Thieves, Leviatán, KRÜ Esports, MIBR | Cloud9, FURIA, Evil Geniuses, LYON, Shopify Rebellion |
| VCT Pacific (8 Slots) | Paper Rex, T1, Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ), Full Sense, Crazy Raccoon | DRX, Gen.G, ZETA DIVISION, DetonatioN FocusMe, Talon Esports, Team Secret |
My Take: Riot Games Is Finally Ending Guaranteed Franchise Complacency
In my view, trimming the partner pool to 32 teams while cracking the circuit wide open for 2027-2028 is the boldest and healthiest decision Riot Games has made since launching VCT partnerships. For four years, a 10-team closed structure insulated underperforming organizations that coasted on digital team capsule revenue while hungry Tier 2 rosters hit a glass ceiling. Watching historic names like Cloud9, Gen.G, and DRX lose their guaranteed partner safety net proves that past prestige no longer buys permanent immunity. With four Open Qualifier spots feeding directly into Kickoff and open pathways to Masters, excluded clubs still have a clear road to the top, provided they earn it on the server rather than in the boardroom.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles 'Grimtag' Ronchain is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
