Partner teams in VCT 2027 are entitled to a whole slew of perks ranging from financial support to tournament byes.
The org Partnership Model for the VALORANT Championship Tour (VCT) is changing in 2027. Partnered teams and orgs will be entitled to tournament byes, a stipend, Team Capsules, and more.
The new VCT Partnership Model in 2027 explained
2027 marks a new two-year partnership cycle for the VCT, and with the introduction of the VCT Cups and sub-regional Open Qualifiers, being a partner now means more for orgs.
Riot Games outright revealed some of the perks that Partners will receive:
First is a “base payment” — practically a stipend for partnered teams. While they did not uncover the exact amount, reports from the first partnership cycle suggest anywhere from $600,000 to $1.5 million, annually. Partners are also entitled to a performance bonus; “additional rewards” for partner teams who excel at their goals. This translates beyond competitive success, though. They’ll also have an in-game Team Capsule, a way for their fans to show their support.
These are all nice and expected, but the fourth perk is where it gets good for partners.
Partnered teams will be able to enjoy Direct Seeding in qualifiers, meaning they will get byes and will get to start some tournaments in later stages for “additional stability and increased exposure.” Combined with the “Everything is a Tournament” approach that VCT 2027 is implementing, this is a big thing.
Getting byes means that teams will have less chances to lose to an underdog (or throw the game against one), but this also means that they get to play more competitive matches. A partnered team is playing on the highest level of VALORANT in their respective region, so they’re expected to bulldoze through most of the competition anyway.
On the other hand, both partnered and non-partnered teams can earnmoney by qualifying through tournaments. This increases the value of squads that excel but aren’t parntered, especially when it comes to getting picked up by organizations.
New partner teams
The two-year cycle ending this 2026 opens the door for new partner teams. Even just looking at the past few seasons, there have been a lot of successful non-partner teams.
Nongshim RedForce, for example, qualified through Ascension in 2024 and eventually took Masters Santiago. VCT CN’s XLG Esports and Dragon Ranger Gaming both made it to Champions 2025 and have one Masters showing each. G2 Esports in VCT America has made it to all three Masters events since 2025 and managed at least a 4th place finish in each of them.
Riot formally announced that established teams can now apply for the partnership program, and they will be judged on the following criteria:
- Commitment to Grow the VALORANT Community
- Community Resonance across Fandom and Content
- Business Sustainability and Responsible Operations
- Operational Excellence and Established Infrastructure
- Competitive Success and Performance Development
VCT will debut the new Open Qualifiers, VCT Cups, and new partnership program at the turn of 2027.