All VCT Ascension 2025 Winners: Americas, China, EMEA and Pacific
Over the past weekend, VALORANT Tier 2 competitions around the world came to a conclusion. With it, we now have the six teams joining VCT 2026 to fight alongside the 40 partnered teams.
Americas: ENVY is Back!
The Americas Ascension was arguably the most interesting of all the tournaments. It featured an incredible storyline and a Grand Final between two premium North American organizations, ENVY and TSM, clashing on Brazilian soil.
As the dust settled, the team that started as a ragtag group of ranked enjoyers picked up by ENVY made it to VCT Americas 2026 on the back of their unique, PRX-esque aggressive playstyle.
China: Dragon Ranger Gaming Returns
Dragon Ranger Gaming made a name for themselves after qualifying for Masters Shanghai 2024. They qualified for VALORANT Champions 2025 after placing second behind Bilibili Gaming at VCT 2025: CN Stage 2. Unfortunately, they failed to field their complete roster at Champions Paris and exited the tournament in last place. It also meant Xi Lai Gaming’s win over Sentinels helped them secure a spot in VCT CN 2026 over DRG.
At VCT China Ascension 2025, DRG completely annihilated the competition, only dropping a single game on their way to promotion.
EMEA: Turkey Dominates Tier 2
With neither Apeks nor Gentle Mates qualifying for VALORANT Champions, the VCT EMEA Ascension was played for two VCT 2026 spots. Furthermore, neither Apeks, who terminated their VALORANT division, nor Gentle Mates, who were promoted to replace Movistar KOI, played in Ascension. That means, two new teams will enter EMEA for the upcoming year.
The eight-team tournament was dominated by the two Turkish teams, ULF Esports and BBL PCIFIC. Both topped their groups and won their promotion matchups to secure VCT EMEA 2026 spots.
With this, EMEA now boasts four Turkish teams: BBL, FUT, ULF, and BBL PCIFIC.
Pacific: Korea on Top
Similar to EMEA, neither Ascended team from Pacific qualified for VALORANT Champions, meaning VCT Pacific Ascension 2025 was played for two available VCT Pacific 2026 spots. Both Nongshim RedForce and BOOM Esports played the tournament, but only one managed to secure promotion back.
The team that dominated everyone was SLT Seongnam. Qualifying via the Korean Challengers, they did not drop a single map, completely outclassing BOOM in both the group stage and playoffs to qualify for VCT Pacific 2026.
The other team making it back to Pacific was Nongshim RedForce, who took down BOOM in the lower finals to punch their return ticket.
Similar to EMEA, the Pacific region also has a dominant subregion, i.e. Korea. The 2026 season will feature five Korean teams: DRX, Gen.G, T1, SLT Seongnam, and Nongshim Red Force.
These six teams will join the competition in 2026. With Riot's new VCT format, another set of Challenger teams will also join Tier 1 towards the end of the year for a shot at VALORANT Champions 2026.
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Featured Image Credit: Riot Games
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ENVY Headed to VCT Americas 2026 after Ascension Win over TSM