VALORANT Champions 2024 Seoul: All qualified teams

VALORANT Champions 2024 is almost here. The season-ending championship tournament for the VALORANT Champions Tour begins Aug. 1, and all 16 teams that will compete have been confirmed. The 16 teams hail from the four VCT international leagues, with four each from Americas, EMEA (Europe), Pacific (Asia) and China. Evil Geniuses, last years champs, will not be back to defend their title, and neither of the two previous champions are present either, which means a new organization will earn their first VALORANT world championship.

Many of the teams who will be competing in Seoul, South Korea, will be familiar to those who have been following the VCT this year and watched the two other global events held this year, Masters Madrid and Masters Shanghai. Gen.G have a chance to wrap up a special year. They finished second in Madrid and won Masters Shanghai and will be playing Champions in their home country. They’re the standard-bearers for the Pacific region and the overall favorites, but Paper Rex, last year’s runners-up, are back again.

Although Evil Geniuses won’t be at Champions, one of their former players, Corbin “C0M” Lee is with Leviatán, who lead a strong Americas field, including Masters Madrid champions Sentinels and Masters Shanghai top-three finisher G2 Esports. Multi-time Masters winners Fnatic lead the way for EMEA, and Shanghai runner-up Team Heretics will also be in Seoul. EDward Gaming are once again China’s best hope. To get you ready for VALORANT Champions, here’s a primer on all 16 qualified teams.

• Leviatán
• Sentinels
• G2 Esports
• KRÜ Esports
• Fnatic
• FUT Esports
• Team Heretics
• Team Vitality
• Gen.G
• Paper Rex
• DRX
• Talon Esports
• EDward Gaming
• FunPlus Phoenix
• Bilibili Gaming
• Trace Esports

Leviatán

Americas

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Leviatán were dominant in Americas Stage 2 following a disappointing Swiss stage exit at Masters Shanghai. The Americas superteam made a coaching change and went 6-0 in matches and 12-0 in maps from the Stage 2 group stage through the playoffs up until the upper bracket final. They were humbled 2-0 by G2, but then bounced back to beat G2 3-1 in the grand final and become Americas champions. Lev have some of the best talent across the entire region, including Brazilian star duelist and former world champ Erick “aspas” Santos, North American world champion Corbin “C0M” Lee, Ascension champion Ian “tex” Botsch and Latin American stars Francisco "kiNgg" Aravena and Roberto "Mazino" Bugueño.

G2 Esports

Americas

Photo credit: Liu YiCun / Riot Games

No matter how much people keep doubting them, G2 Esports just keep winning. They have consistently exceeded expectations from finishing second in VCT Americas Stage 1 to finishing third at Masters Shanghai to finishing second in VCT Americas Stage 2 and qualifying for Champions. It’s been an incredible run for the core of this team (Jacob "valyn" Batio, Jacob "valyn" Batio, Trent "trent" Cairns and coach Josh "JoshRT" Lee) which earned their place in VCT Americas by winning Ascension last year with The Guard. Their additions this year in Nathan "leaf" Orf and Jacob "icy" Lange have propelled the team forward and they are the first and only Ascension team to qualify for Champions.

Sentinels

Americas

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

For the first time since 2021, Sentinels are going to Champions. It seemed like an almost foregone conclusion the popular org would be competing for Valorant’s world championship after winning Americas Kickoff and Masters Madrid. It took all those valuable points Sentinels collected early in the season to secure their place after getting knocked out early in the Stage 2 playoffs by 100 Thieves. With stars like Tyson “TenZ” Ngo and Zachary “zekken” Patrone, this will be an exciting team to watch with the potential to win Champs despite being the Americas fourth seed. The question is, can they find the same form that they had during the first part of the season.

KRÜ Esports

Americas

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Lo and behold KRÜ have qualified for their fourth straight Champions. KRÜ appeared to be on the decline after accruing a strong 5-1 record in Americas Stage 1. They fell flat in the Stage 1 playoffs, failed to qualify for Masters Shanghai and stumbled to a 1-3 record in Stage 2 amid a roster change and an IGL change. Even after being demolished by Leviatán in the Stage 2 playoffs, they mustered everything they had to beat a heavily favored 100 Thieves despite being down 11-7 in Map 3 to qualify for Champions. Not only does KRÜ’s palace at Champions give Latin America another representative and Brazil one more player (Olavo “heat” Marcelo) amid the lack of Brazilian teams, but there is tremendous emotional significance too. Daveeys, who was on KRÜ last year, died in the offseason, and KRÜ coach Jorge “Atom” Noriega has said that this season would be in memory of him.

Fnatic

EMEA

Photo credit: Michal Lonkol / Riot Games

It just wouldn’t be Champions without Fnatic. The European juggernauts have qualified for all four Champions held so far, but they’re still seeking their first trophy. Fnatic were back-to-back Masters champs last year, and although they haven’t been as dominant this year, they have gotten stronger down the stretch. After missing out on Masters Madrid, Fnatic were champions of EMEA Stage 1 and 2 and qualified for Masters Shanghai. The one change the team has made this year is bringing in Emirhan "hiro" Kat for Stage 2 in place of Leo "Leo" Jannesson, who is taking time off for health reasons. They’re peaking at the right time heading to Seoul.

Team Heretics

EMEA

Photo credit: Michal Konkol / Riot Games

Los Niños are growing up fast. Team Heretics have been the darlings of EMEA this year with a former Fortnite pro in Benjy "benjyfishy" Fish, the Boo Brothers, young Turkish stars Mert "Wo0t" Alkan and Enes "RieNs" Ecirli, and a dependable substitute in Patryk "paTiTek" Fabrowski. Their results have elevated them this year as they first qualified for Masters Madrid, then finished second at Masters Shanghai before qualifying for Champions. Heretics failed to reach the VCT EMEA Stage 2 final, but there’s no doubt this team can win Champions if they find the form they had in Shanghai.

Team Vitality

EMEA

Photo credit: Wojciech Wandzel / Riot Games

Team Vitality are definitely the most surprising EMEA team heading to Champs and one of the more surprising teams at the tournament overall. After missing out on the EMEA Kickoff and Stage 1 playoffs, Vitality qualified for the Stage 2 playoffs with a solid 6-4 record overall across both stages and then went on a run in the season-ending playoffs all the way to the final. Vitality have gone from beating a mediocre NAVI to qualify for Champions to beating Team Heretics twice, a team that was thought of as the best in Europe after Masters Shanghai and throughout EMEA Stage 2. Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel is the most internationally recognizable name on this team after competing with Team Liquid at Champions and Masters Tokyo last year and Masters Copenhagen with Guild Esports in 2022. The way they’ve caught fire late in the year, Vitality will be arguably the biggest wild card in Seoul.

FUT Esports

EMEA

Photo credit: David Lee / Riot Games

FUT Esports qualified for Masters Shanghai and will be EMEA’s fourth seed at Champions. Despite having the best regular season record, map differential and round differential in EMEA, FUT have fallen short in the playoffs. Their main issue has been losing to Team Heretics. FUT are 0-5 versus Heretics, who knocked them out of Masters Shanghai and the EMEA Stage 2 playoffs.

Gen.G

Pacific

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Gen.G have a chance to do something special this year. Can the Masters Shanghai champs reach yet another final at Champions? Gen.G started off the year by winning the Pacific Kickoff championship then reaching the Masters Madrid final. They were runners-up in the Pacific Stage 1 final and then became the first Pacific team to win a global VCT event in Shanghai. They were crowned Pacific champions following Stage 2 and will now try to win Champions in their home country just like Evil Geniuses did last year in North America. No team has ever won a Masters and Champions in the same year, so they’ll attempt to pull off that feat as well.

Paper Rex

Pacific

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Paper Rex have been the kings of the Pacific for the past couple years until Gen.G upstaged them this year. With all the attention and pressure shifted onto Gen.G now, the fan favorites might be the sleeping giants at Champions. Paper Rex were the runners-up at Champions last year and had a top three finish at Masters Madrid and top six in Shanghai. With Wang "Jinggg" Jie returning to the team in March after a brief break for military service, the team should be even better with him at Champions. They’ve gone 3-3 against Gen.G this year, but their kryptonite might be Americas teams. They’re 1-3 against teams from the Americas this year including losses to Sentinels, 100 Thieves and G2 with only a win against LOUD.

DRX

Pacific

Photo credit: Riot Games

It’s hard to believe Champions will be the first time we see DRX at a global event this year. DRX have been a mainstay at international events the past few years, and they’ve had a solid 2024, including a 5-0 record during Pacific Stage 1 prior to the playoffs. DRX’s roster looks quite different than it did since they took the stage at Champions last year. Kim "Zest" Gi-seok, Goo "Rb" Sang-min and Kim "stax" Gu-taek are no longer with the team. Their newest addition is 18-year-old Cho "Flashback" Min-hyuk who came up through DRX’s developmental prospects team.

Talon Esports

Pacific

Photo credit: Riot Games

There’s definitely a tier gap between Talon and the rest of the Pacific teams that have qualified for Champions. Talon had a good year, and just made it into the playoffs where a big win over Team Secret qualified them for Champions. It was partly due to the addition of a very highly regarded prospect in Papaphat "Primmie" Sriprapha, who popped off for 52 kills across two maps against Secret. Primmie & Co. were subsequently humbled by DRX and Paper Rex, but they could pull off some upsets in Seoul.

EDward Gaming

China

Photo credit: Liu YiCun / Riot Games

EDG have been the preeminent team from China the past couple years. There’s no question that they will perform against teams from their own region in their own league. They’re heading to Seoul following yet another regional win in VCT China Stage 2. The question is, can they step up and exceed expectations internationally. After top six finishes at Masters Tokyo and Champions last year and Masters Madrid this year, EDG went 0-2 in front of their fans at Masters Shanghai. Can they bounce back at Champions?

FunPlus Phoenix

China

Photo credit: Liu YiCun / Riot Games

FunPlus Phoenix have shown a lot of promise this year as a counterweight to EDG’s dominance in China, however, they have yet to overcome EDG in a final and really show out on the international stage. They’re 0-3 vs. EDG in VCT China finals this year and have only won one game across Masters Madrid and Masters Shanghai. Their two losses in Shanghai were against the two eventual finalists -- Heretics and Gen.G -- so perhaps they’ve just been victims of some very tough matchups. We’ll see if they can finally break through in Seoul.

Trace Esports

China

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Trace Esports burst onto the scene in VCT China Stage 2 with a 4-1 record. They qualified for Champions with a win over All Gamers in the VCT China season-ending playoffs and then pulled off their most significant win of the season, a 2-0 vs. FunPlus Phoenix, to thrust them into the upper final against EDG. They lost to EDG as well as a rematch against FPX, but Trace have shown that they can punch above their weight at times. They have one player with experience on the global stage. Zhong "Biank" Jian Fei was with BLG last year at Champions.

Bilibili Gaming

China

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Bilibili are best known for having upset and knocked out NRG from Champions last year. Now, BLG are back at Champions for their first appearance on the global stage this year. Wang "whz" Haozhe, Liu "Knight" Yuxiang and Wang "yosemite" Lei remain from that surprising team, but the rest of the roster has been changed up. BLG are winless (0-6) this year against the other teams from China that qualified for Champions.

Lead photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff