Riot Games has announced the partner team lineup for the 2027 and 2028 VALORANT Champions Tour. Aligning with the new VCT format, the number of partner teams in the Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China regions has been reduced from 10 to 8, adjusting the fixed roster for the next two seasons.
Following the reduction in slots, Cloud9, KOI, and Global Esports, former VCT Pacific champions, were not retained in the partnership program. Five new teams have joined this round: G2 Esports from the Americas region, Weibo Gaming and XLG from the China region, and GAM Esports and Crazy Raccoon from the Pacific region.
GAM Esports had never previously competed in VALORANT's top-tier events. This Vietnamese esports organization has operated a League of Legends division for over a decade, participating multiple times in the World Championship and Mid-Season Invitational. Japanese organization Crazy Raccoon returns to VALORANT after disbanding its division three years ago.
Selected teams will automatically receive invitations to the 2027 VCT Kickoff tournament and will share in revenue generated from team skin digital content. Riot will also provide $100,000 in financial support to teams qualifying for the VCT EMEA stage; whether similar arrangements will be made in other regions has not yet been fully confirmed.