Daniel Ringland, Head of VALORANT Esports EMEA at Riot Games, has given a public update on the new VCT partner team that is expected to join in the 2026 season.
The Rioter confirmed an invite-only selection process is currently underway, outlining the process and the criteria being applied.
“VCT EMEA fans, I want to take a moment to share an update on the open slot in our league,” said Ringland in his X post.
“A week ago, we launched an invite-only selection process to find our next partner team. We invited ten orgs with strong ties to VALORANT Esports in EMEA – including our outgoing visitor teams and Ascension teams – to participate in the selection process.”
Ringland added that Riot will adhere to the same framework used for the original partner team selection process, looking not only at the competitive results but also “fandom, community engagement, marketing capabilities, and overall operational readiness.” The Rioter also confirmed the selected team will be revealed next month.
“Our goal is to find an organisation that can help grow the sport and have a meaningful impact on the ecosystem next year. We’ve received a number of strong proposals and will be working through them over the coming weeks,” Ringland continued.
A New EMEA VCT Partner Team Will Replace KOI
The selection comes two weeks after Spanish organisation KOI was confirmed to lose their VCT spot at the end of the season due to ‘inconsistent performance and failure to meet certain obligations’.
Despite the team’s willingness to offer alternatives to make up for the shortcomings, Riot made the sudden decision to terminate the collaboration with Ibai’s team.
Alongside KOI’s vacated slot, Apeks and Gentlemates have lost VCT guest slots after failing to qualify for VCT Champions 2025 and recording poor results throughout the year. Unless either of the teams is selected as a partner team, both sides will be relegated to tier two for the 2026 season. As a result, two new Ascension teams will also join the VCT EMEA line-up.
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