Organizations in VCT China have started confirming their partnered status for the next cycle after Champions Shanghai and the end of the previous VCT partnership agreement. According to VLR.gg, the new agreement runs for two years, giving Riot more flexibility than the old setup.
The biggest change is in China. The previous structure had 10 partnered teams per region plus two Ascension teams, but the next cycle will give China eight partnered teams, two visitor or guest teams, and two more slots that can be earned through open qualifiers. The confirmed partnered teams are TYLOO, Weibo Gaming, Xi Lai Gaming, All Gamers, JD Gaming, Trace Esports, EDward Gaming and Bilibili Gaming.
TYLOO is one of the first teams locked in for the new cycle. The organization has been in Valorant since 2020 and, aside from a brief spell away in 2021, has fielded rosters that usually landed in the middle of the pack in China. Its listed roster is splash, Scales, Erv, slowly, SiuFatBB and xihe.
Weibo Gaming is also back in the partnership field after returning to Valorant in 2026. VLR.gg noted that the organization was active from 2021 to 2023 before coming back with a roster that included several former VCT players and coaches, and it is now aiming for a place in VCT in 2027. The current lineup listed in the article is AcMe, Yoyo, Satoshi, heybay and Leav3u.
Xi Lai Gaming arrives from a much stronger position than most of the region’s other teams. Since moving up through Ascension, it has become one of China’s top squads and has reached five international appearances over the last two seasons. Its roster listed in the article is WsLeo, Sharks, Lysoar and happywei. GAMER2GO has also tracked the team’s offseason planning in previous coverage of Xi Lai Gaming.
All Gamers is another Chinese organization that turned a breakout year into a place in the next cycle. VLR.gg wrote that the team spent much of its time in VCT China as one of the region’s more forgotten lineups before a run earlier this year ended with its first international event, reached by winning China Kickoff. The roster listed in the article is Shr1mp, K1ra, Bai, f4ngeer and iamgrq.
JD Gaming, ranked No. 7, is in after finally breaking through this year and qualifying for Champions as its first international event. VLR.gg said a rebuilt roster helped the team reach that event, which was also the organization’s first-ever international appearance. The listed players are jkuro, zhe, Yuicaw, crownfisher and BerLIN.
Trace Esports returns to partnered status despite being a few years removed from the form it showed at Champions Seoul. VLR.gg said the team has been selected as a partnered side for the next two years as well. The roster listed in the article is LuoK1ng, Kai, FengF, FKEY and deLb.
EDward Gaming does not need much introduction in Chinese Valorant. The Champions Seoul winners are back in VCT CN for 2027, and VLR.gg said their reputation in the scene was likely enough to secure their place in the next cycle. Their listed roster includes ZmjjKK, nobody, CHICHOO, Smoggy, Jieni7 and stew.
Bilibili Gaming rounds out the announced partnered teams. The source lists the lineup as whzy, rushia, nephh, yilai, Knight, bud and FT.
China’s new slot system leaves room for guests and qualifiers
The new China format leaves the partnered core smaller than before, but it also opens the door for more movement around the edge of the league. The two visitor or guest slots and the two open-qualifier positions mean not every place in VCT China will be locked in through the same partnership process.
That matters because the region’s competitive path is no longer limited to the core eight partnered teams. Teams outside the partnership group can still push in through the qualifier route, while two organizations will get guest status in the new cycle. VLR.gg did not identify which teams will fill those guest or open-qualifier places.
The comments attached to the source also reflected some of the uncertainty around the new format. Readers asked how the guest slots work, whether the region would have only 10 teams in total, and how open qualifying would fit into the path to kickoff, cups, Masters and Champions. Others pointed out possible contenders such as Nova, FPX, DRG, Wolves and TEC, but none of those teams were confirmed in the article.
VLR.gg said the article will be updated as more organizations announce their status, and that teams not selected as partners will be added in a separate section once they are confirmed. That leaves the final shape of the region still incomplete, even after the first wave of announcements.
The current list still gives VCT China a clear mix of established names and recent risers. TYLOO brings a long-running presence in the scene, Weibo Gaming is back after its return to Valorant, Xi Lai Gaming arrives with Ascension momentum, All Gamers and JD Gaming are coming off breakthrough seasons, Trace Esports has kept its place through a rougher stretch, EDward Gaming remains the region’s biggest name and Bilibili Gaming fills out the eight-team core.
Elsewhere in the wider Valorant offseason, GAMER2GO has also followed roster movement and contract news around the region, including Xi Lai Gaming’s previous offseason update and other player movement across APAC and China.
The new structure gives China a smaller partnered field than before, but it also builds in more routes for teams to get into the top level. With two-year agreements, guest spots and open qualifiers all part of the plan, the region’s next cycle is already taking shape around the eight teams that have been announced so far.
so with the two guest slots and two open qualifier spots, is China basically going to run 12 teams total or am i reading that wrong? feels like the path to kickoff is way less locked down now
Kinda wild that China got the biggest structural shakeup here while the old 10+2 model is getting cut down. The eight partnered teams make sense if Riot wants a tighter core, but the guest and open qualifier spots make the whole thing feel more like a real ladder again instead of a closed club. My hot take is this will help the region more than the old setup, because teams like All Gamers and JD Gaming got in by actually peaking when it mattered, not just by existing. If the open route is real and stable, that is better for depth.
i dunno, less locked spots also means more chaos for orgs trying to plan rosters. riot loves saying flexibility when they mean uncertainty
Fair, but uncertainty is kind of the point here. If the region is only carrying eight true partners, the rest of the field should be fighting for it instead of collecting a comfy seat like it’s a subscription.
yeah, that’s basically my point. the old model protected too many teams from having to prove anything after kickoff, and it got stale fast. if the guest slots are used properly, at least there is some pressure on the lower end instead of everyone autopiloting into another season.
my team had a similar reset once in a scrim league, and the worse part was not the format – it was everyone panic-benching after the first bad week. these orgs are probably already doing the same thing behind the scenes if the cycle is only two years now
eight partnered teams is a pretty brutal cut compared to the old setup
Smaller core, bigger spreadsheet though
weibo back in after being away and tyloo being one of the first locked is actually interesting. it feels like riot is rewarding orgs that kept showing up, not just the biggest logo names. also xi lai coming in with five international appearances is the one that stands out most to me, because they are basically the proof the Ascension path can still matter if you keep winning after promotion.