We now have a look at what the format will look like for the new Kickoff tournaments, and how teams will qualify for Champions.
All regionalKickoff tournamentswill have the same format.
Each Kickoff will start with a Group Stage, with all eleven teams being seeded into three groups. Two groups will feature four teams, and one group will feature three teams.
Each group will compete in a double-elimination bracket, with all matches played as Bo3s. The three winning teams of each group will directly move into the Stage 3 Playoffs. The three other second-place teams will move into the Stage 2 Play-Ins.
In the Stage 2 Play-Ins, the three second-place teams will face off in a round-robin, with only one team out of the three earning a spot in the playoffs.
In the Playoffs Stage, the four remaining teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket, with the two finalists securing their spots at Masters Madrid.
Related:
Teams can gain Championship Points through various ways. If a team wins either their regional Kickoff, Stage 1 and Stage 2 Playoffs,Masters Madrid, or Masters Shanghai, they will be rewarded three points.
Each match won during the regional Stages 1 and 2 will net a team one point. Across both stages, each team will play 10 regular season matches.
The first and second seed in each Stage Playoffs will receive a buy into the second round of competition and also earn an extra point as the two teams will have access to one less match.
Unlike the past three VCT seasons, there will be no LCQs for Champions, rather, fourth-seed qualification will be determined by a team’s consistency throughout the season.
Jeremy Gan was a Games Writer on Dexerto’s Australia team. He is a journalism graduate and expertly covers CS:GO, Valorant, Overwatch, League of Legends, and Dota 2, as well as trending stories in Twitch and Kick streaming.
