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Esports

VCT Champions Shanghai Grand Final October 18: Four Teams Left, One Trophy

By AS Gaming Editorial October 14, 2026 2 min read PC
VCT Champions Shanghai Grand Final October 18: Four Teams Left, One Trophy

Illustration: AS Gaming

Strengths

Weaknesses

The biggest Valorant tournament of the year reaches its climax. VCT Champions 2026 in Shanghai — the first ever held in China, and the last of the franchise era before VCT returns to open qualifiers in 2027 — hits finals weekend October 16–18 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Pudong, with a $2.25 million prize pool.

Four teams remain

Upper Bracket Final (Oct 16): LOUD vs Team Vitality. LOUD — the consistently elite Brazilian org — already has one foot in the grand final. Vitality, with Derke and crew, is the EMEA wall in their way.

Lower Bracket (Oct 16): G2 Esports vs 100 Thieves. The winner advances to the Lower Bracket Final (Oct 17) against the upper-final loser, for the second grand final slot.

Grand Final: October 18, BO5.

The big upset: NRG are out

Defending champions NRG — chasing the first back-to-back title in Champions history — are already eliminated, stopped by 100 Thieves in the playoffs. No repeat champion this year; the trophy changes hands guaranteed.

Paper Rex are also out after a tragic collapse in Shanghai. Neither the Masters Santiago (Nongshim RedForce) nor Masters London (Leviatan) winners made finals weekend — a measure of how deep this year's field runs.

Why this final matters

This isn't just a season closer. As the last Champions of the franchise era, the tournament closes a six-year chapter of VCT's partnered system. From 2027, the format returns to open qualifiers — underdogs get a path back, but org stability ends.

For Indonesian viewers: the broadcast is available in Bahasa Indonesia on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. The October 18 grand final at 2 AM ET lands around 1 PM WIB — very watchable hours. Make coffee; this should be a fitting end to an era.

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