VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026: Week One Group Stage Results and How to Watch What's Next

VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 has played its first eight group-stage matches, and the picture of who is thriving and who is fighting for survival is already taking shape. The event opened on September 24 at the Jing'an Sports Center in Shanghai, and September 28 is a scheduled off day before the next round of group matches resumes. Here is exactly what has happened in each group, what is left on the calendar through the October 18 Grand Final, and how to watch it live — including the free rewards Riot Games is giving out just for tuning in.

1. Sixteen Teams, Four Groups, One Final Franchise-Era Champions

VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 brings together 16 teams from across VALORANT's competitive regions, split into four groups of four with teams from the same region kept apart. Each group plays a "lose twice and you're out" format at best-of-three, and the top two finishers from every group advance to the playoffs. This is also the last Champions held under the current franchised VCT structure — Riot has confirmed the competition returns to an open qualifier format starting in 2027, which adds extra weight to every series in Shanghai. NRG, last year's champions, are back in the field to defend their title.

2. Group A: 100 Thieves and FUT Esports Take the Early Lead

100 Thieves opened their tournament with a clean 2-0 sweep of T1 on September 27, closing out Summit 13-8 before finishing the series 13-9 on Ascent. In the other Group A match that same day, FUT Esports beat JD Gaming 2-0. That result sends 100 Thieves and FUT Esports into the group's upper bracket, while T1 and JD Gaming now have to win an elimination match just to stay alive.

3. Group B: LOUD and Team Vitality Advance

LOUD swept EDward Gaming 2-0 on September 26 to open Group B, and Team Vitality followed with a tighter 2-1 win over Global Esports the same day. LOUD and Team Vitality move into the upper bracket, while Global Esports and EDward Gaming face off in an elimination match to avoid being knocked out of the tournament entirely.

4. Group C: G2 Esports and Paper Rex Off to Strong Starts

Group C got underway on the tournament's opening day, September 24. G2 Esports beat TYLOO 2-0, and Paper Rex edged out Team Liquid 2-1. That puts G2 Esports and Paper Rex through to the upper bracket, with TYLOO and Team Liquid needing a win in the lower bracket to keep their run alive.

5. Group D: Karmine Corp and Defending Champions NRG Both 1-0

Karmine Corp swept Xi Lai Gaming 2-0 on September 25, and NRG — the reigning 2025 Champions — did the same to Nongshim RedForce. Karmine Corp and NRG head into the upper bracket, while Xi Lai Gaming and Nongshim RedForce play an elimination match to stay in the event.

6. What's Left on the Group Stage Schedule

Per Riot's official Champions Shanghai schedule, the remaining group-stage matches run as follows:

• September 29-30 — Groups Upper: the winners from round one play each other (100 Thieves vs. FUT Esports, LOUD vs. Team Vitality, G2 Esports vs. Paper Rex, and Karmine Corp vs. NRG) for the first seed out of each group.
• October 1-2 — Groups Lower: the teams that lost their opening match play a win-or-go-home elimination series.
• October 3-4 — Groups Lower Final: the loser of each group's upper-bracket match faces the winner of the lower-bracket match for the second and final playoff spot from that group.

7. The Road to the Grand Final

Once all eight playoff spots are locked in, the tournament moves to a double-elimination playoff bracket: Round 1 runs October 7-8, Lower Round 1 is October 9, Upper Round 2 is October 10, and Lower Round 2 is October 11. After another break, the Upper Finals and Lower Semifinals play out on October 16, the Lower Finals on October 17, and the best-of-five Grand Final closes the event on October 18. For a full breakdown of how the format, bracket and prize structure work, walkthroughs.net's Champions Shanghai format, schedule and teams guide covers it in detail, and the site's recap of the tournament's opening matches is in the Group Stage Day 1 results explainer.

8. How to Watch Champions Shanghai

Riot streams every match live and free on the official VALORANT Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as on the VALORANT Esports website. If you want a look at the atmosphere from the venue itself, Riot's own recap film from the opening day is embedded below.

9. Free Rewards for Watching: Drops, Pick'Ems and Shotcall

Riot is running three separate viewer programs for Champions Shanghai, all confirmed on the official VALORANT Esports "Watch and Earn" page:

• Drops: watch at least 30 minutes of an official broadcast during the Group Stage or Playoffs to unlock the "Prepared" player title, and watch 30 minutes of the Grand Final specifically to unlock the "Stamp of Approval" spray.
• Shotcall: a live Twitch-desktop prediction extension available on the official VCT broadcast. Racking up 50 cumulative points across the event earns "The Catch" title, and 300 cumulative points earns the "Crab Mentality" gun buddy. Finishing in the top 3% of predictions on any single map earns the "Frag or Die Trophy" player card.
• Pick'Ems, powered by AWS: predict match outcomes across the whole tournament. Completing your Pick'Ems earns the "Calculated" title, a perfect Pick'Ems run earns the "100%" title, finishing in the top 50% earns the "Stone of Heaven" buddy, and finishing in the top 20% earns the upgraded "Master: Stone of Heaven" buddy.

10. Why This Champions Carries Extra Weight

Beyond the usual stakes of crowning a World Champion, Shanghai is the first time Champions has been held in China, and Riot has already confirmed it is the last Champions event under the current franchised VCT structure before the league moves to an open qualifier format in 2027. That gives every team in the bracket — especially defending champions NRG, who have already picked up their first win of the event — one last shot at a franchise-era title before the format changes for good.

Quick recap:

• 100 Thieves, FUT Esports, LOUD, Team Vitality, G2 Esports, Paper Rex, Karmine Corp and NRG all won their opening group-stage matches.
• Groups Upper matches run September 29-30, Groups Lower elimination matches run October 1-2, and the Groups Lower Final deciders run October 3-4.
• Playoffs run October 7-11 and October 16-17, with the Grand Final on October 18.
• Watch on the official VALORANT Twitch or YouTube channels to qualify for free Drops, and check the official Pick'Ems and Shotcall pages to predict your way to extra in-game rewards.

Official Resources:

• VALORANT Esports: Champions Shanghai — Everything You Need to Know
• VALORANT Esports: Champions Shanghai — Watch and Earn
• Official VALORANT News
• 2026 VALORANT Champions on Wikipedia

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