VCT Americas: Kickoff 2026

VCT Americas Kickoff 2026 is the opening tournament for the Americas International League, starting January 15 at 2:00 PM PT. It features 12 teams battling for three qualification spots to Masters Santiago, with matches playable live in Los Angeles and streamed on Twitch and YouTube

Bracket: Triple-elimination (teams can survive multiple losses before being eliminated). Seeding: Placed via a random draw. Byes: The four Americas teams that qualified for Champions Paris 2025 start with an automatic bye into Round 2. International stakes: 1st–3rd qualify for Masters Santiago; Championship Points are awarded to the top 4 (1st: +4, 2nd: +3, 3rd: +2, 4th: +1). Skirmish Side Selection: Before the match begins, each team chooses one player to represent them. Those two players play a 1v1 Skirmish in-game. Abilities are turned off — it’s gunplay only. The first player to win five rounds wins the Skirmish. The winning team earns the first pick in the map veto process. This same Skirmish method can also be used to decide seeding when needed