The official Valorant Champions Tour 2024 season has officially concluded. It was a year full of intense rivalries, unexpected twists, and spectacular victories. We witnessed underdogs becoming champions, young teams transforming from mid-tier regional league teams into top contenders for international tournament victories, as well as brilliant moments in the Game Changers women's league. In this article, we’ll highlight the key events of the season and determine what made 2024 stand out in Valorant esports history.
In this article:
- Chronology of the Valorant Champions Tour 2024 season
- VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Madrid
- VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai
- Valorant Champions 2024
- VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2024
- Surprise of the Year
- Breakthrough of the Year
- Fail of the Year
- Scandal of the Year
- VCT Rookies
- New Season - Valorant Champions 2025
Chronology of the Valorant Champions Tour 2024 season
The VCT 2024 season consisted of several key stages, each with its unique features:
- Regional Leagues: In the EMEA, Pacific, Americas, and China regions, there were two league splits and the Kick-Off tournament, which marked the beginning of the season. At each of these stages, the best teams from their respective regions competed for Masters slots, points, and places in the main event of the year — Valorant Champions.
- Masters Tournaments: The first two stages culminated in an international Masters event, where the best regional teams fought for significant prize pools and fan recognition.
- Champions: The climax of the season — the final tournament, which determined the best team of the year. The atmosphere at the event was, as always, unique, and the teams put on a real show, with the winner remaining uncertain until the final.
The Game Changers league had fewer events but was certainly not boring. Throughout the year, teams fought for places in the main tournament, similar to Valorant Champions, where the strongest female teams from all over the world gathered.
VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Madrid
After the Kick-Off tournament, a full list of participants for the first Masters 2024 event was formed across all four regions, with two teams from each region qualifying. The weakest regions turned out to be China and Europe, as all of their representatives were eliminated after the Swiss stage, leaving the fight for the title to American and Pacific teams. The champion was Sentinels, marking their first Masters title after a three-year break (the previous one being VCT 2021: Stage 2 Masters — Reykjavík). In addition to the trophy, the team took home the largest portion of the prize pool — $250,000.
Participants and prize pool distribution of VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Madrid
| Place | $ USD | Participant |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $250,000 | Sentinels |
| 2nd | $100,000 | Gen.G Esports |
| 3rd | $65,000 | Paper Rex |
| 4th | $35,000 | LOUD |
| 5th-6th | $15,000 | EDward Gaming |
| 5th-6th | $15,000 | Karmine Corp |
| 7th-8th | $10,000 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| 7th-8th | $10,000 | Team Heretics |
VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai
After the first Masters, teams returned to the regional leagues, divided into two parts. Based on the results of the first part, the top three teams from each region qualified for VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai. The tournament had a new format: the best teams from the regions immediately secured playoff spots, while the other eight teams battled in the Swiss stage for four slots. The winner was Gen.G Esports, which at that point cemented its status as the main contender for victory in Valorant Champions 2024. Second place went to Team Heretics, marking their first major statement in the Valorant scene after four years in the discipline.
Participants and prize pool distribution of VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai
| Place | $ USD | Participant |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $350,000 | Gen.G Esports |
| 2nd | $200,000 | Team Heretics |
| 3rd | $125,000 | G2 Esports |
| 4th | $75,000 | 100 Thieves |
| 5th-6th | $50,000 | Paper Rex |
| 5th-6th | $50,000 | FUT Esports |
| 7th-8th | $35,000 | EDward Gaming |
| 7th-8th | $35,000 | Fnatic |
| 9th-10th | $25,000 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| 9th-10th | $25,000 | Leviatán |
| 11th-12th | $15,000 | Dragon Ranger Gaming |
| 11th-12th | $15,000 | T1 |
Valorant Champions 2024
The final tournament of the season was Valorant Champions 2024, which annually determines the world champion. This year, 16 teams (four from each region) competed not only for the title of the world’s best team but also for the $1 million prize pool for first place.
After the group stage, most fans' Pick'Ems were shattered: the tournament's main favorite, Gen.G Esports, failed to reach the playoffs, while Trace Esports and DRX surprised everyone by advancing from the groups without a single loss. However, the biggest shock was EDward Gaming’s victory in the grand final. This was the first international title for both the team and the entire region. Team Heretics took the silver medals.
Participants and prize pool distribution of Valorant Champions 2024
| Place | $ USD | Participant |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $1,000,000 | EDward Gaming |
| 2nd | $400,000 | Team Heretics |
| 3rd | $250,000 | Leviatán |
| 4th | $130,000 | Sentinels |
| 5th-6th | $85,000 | DRX |
| 5th-6th | $85,000 | Fnatic |
| 7th-8th | $50,000 | Trace Esports |
| 7th-8th | $50,000 | G2 Esports |
| 9th-12th | $30,000 | KRÜ Esports |
| 9th-12th | $30,000 | Gen.G Esports |
| 9th-12th | $30,000 | Team Vitality |
| 9th-12th | $30,000 | Paper Rex |
| 13th-16th | $20,000 | Bilibili Gaming |
| 13th-16th | $20,000 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| 13th-16th | $20,000 | TALON |
| 13th-16th | $20,000 | FUT Esports |
VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2024
The climax of the competitive season in Valorant was the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2024, where sixteen of the best Game Changers teams from around the world competed. This year's VALORANT Game Changers Championship became one of the most spectacular and exciting. Shopify Rebellion took the confident championship, marking their second consecutive title, and possibly their last, as after the season's conclusion, the club announced the departure of Ava "florescent" Eugene, who was named the tournament's MVP and best player.
Participants and Prize Distribution of VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2024
| Place | $ USD | Participant |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $180,000 | Shopify Rebellion |
| 2nd | $100,000 | MIBR GC |
| 3rd | $70,000 | G2 Gozen |
| 4th | $50,000 | Xipto Esports |
| 5th-6th | $25,000 | KRÜ Blaze |
| 5th-6th | $25,000 | ZETA DIVISION GC |
| 7th-8th | $15,000 | GIANTX GC |
| 7th-8th | $15,000 | Falcons Vega |
| 9th-10th | $10,000 | Ambitious Legend Gaming GC |
| 9th-10th | $10,000 | FlyQuest RED |
Surprise of the year
The biggest surprise of the year was EDward Gaming's victory at Valorant Champions 2024. The Chinese region is currently the weakest in Valorant, which is why EDward Gaming, Trace Esports, and FunPlus Phoenix were considered underdogs, and no one expected them to succeed at the tournament. But not only did two of these three teams make it to the playoffs, but EDward Gaming went on to win the championship, defeating all the teams in the upper bracket and earning 1 million USD.
Breakthrough of the Year
Looking at Team Heretics, considering their performance up until 2024 and their current state, you can notice a huge difference in their skills and experience. In 2024, the team attended twice as many Masters tournaments as they had in the previous three years. This became possible thanks to a complete roster overhaul and the signing of young and talented players. Despite the challenges, with the ongoing replacement of Patryk "paTiTek" Fabrowski, the team reached a new level, making it to both Masters and securing second place at Valorant Champions 2024.
READ MORE: All VALORANT Champions Winners: Full Review
Fail of the Year
There are many teams that could be nominated for the fail of the year, such as Evil Geniuses, who won Valorant Champions 2023, but in 2024, they did not qualify for any international tournament, showing unsatisfactory results in VCT 2024: Americas. The reason for this is that only jawgemo remained from the champion lineup, and after the season's conclusion, he also left the organization. NAVI can also be mentioned. Although the team did not win any titles in 2023, they showed decent results, attending VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo and VALORANT Champions 2023. However, this year, they failed to qualify for any tournament outside of the regional league and said goodbye to three players from their roster.
Scandal of the Year
The most talked-about negative event was when Riot Games officially announced that Bleed Esports would lose their spot in the franchise league due to critical rule violations. According to the players, the club repeatedly delayed salaries, sometimes by up to six months, created unacceptable working conditions, and allowed other problems, which led to Riot Games' decision. A similar situation affected other rosters of the club as well; more details about the CS2 roster situation can be found at this link.
VCT Rookies
Just like in the previous year, this year we learned the names of four new teams, one from each region, that joined the franchise. These teams are:
- 2GAME Esports
- Apeks
- XLG Esports
- Nongshim RedForce (formerly Sin Prisa Gaming)
Since Bleed Esports was excluded from the league, there will also be a fifth team — BOOM Esports, who finished second at VCT Ascension Pacific 2024.
New Season - Valorant Champions 2025
The new season will start in the first month of 2025, and we already know information about all the upcoming events related to the main VCT league. We can expect the Kick-off tournament, two stages of the league in each region, two Masters tournaments — Masters Bangkok and Toronto, and everything will culminate with Valorant Champions 2025. The final event of the season will once again be the VALORANT Game Changers Championship.
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