{"id":23256,"date":"2026-02-16T11:57:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportsnewsnetwork.net\/?p=23256"},"modified":"2026-02-16T11:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:57:57","slug":"2026-vct-stage-1-groups-unveiled-for-americas-emea-pacific-and-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportsnewsnetwork.net\/?p=23256","title":{"rendered":"2026 VCT Stage 1 groups unveiled for Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/VCT_EMEA_Stage-1_Group_draw-large.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"VCT Stage 1 group draws\" class=\"wp-image-240788\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image credit: Wojciech Wandzel\/Riot Games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>With the conclusion of the VCT 2026 Kickoff events across EMEA, Americas, Pacific and China, all <strong>2026 VCT<\/strong> <strong>Stage 1 groups<\/strong> have been drawn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>For the Stage 1 Group Stage, each region will divide its teams into two single-round robin groups, called Group Alpha and Group Omega.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"keep-reading \">\n<div class=\"heading section__title \"><span>Keep Reading<\/span><\/div>\n<ul class=\"d-flex flex-column\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2026\/02\/valorant-masters-santiago-opening-matches-format\">VALORANT Masters Santiago opening matches and format revealed<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2026\/02\/bbl-esports-beats-gentle-mates-qualify-valorant-masters-santiago\">BBL Esports beats Gentle Mates to qualify for VALORANT Masters Santiago<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2026\/02\/all-gamers-xlg-esports-edward-gaming-valorant-masters-santiago\">All Gamers, XLG and EDward Gaming qualify for VALORANT Masters Santiago<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>Each region\u2019s group draw used seeding pools based on teams\u2019 competitive performance at VCT Kickoff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>For example, the first team drawn from the pool of teams finishing 11th and 12th was placed in the region\u2019s Group Alpha, while the second team drawn went to Group Omega.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>All Stage 1 group draws were held following the region\u2019s VCT Kickoff Lower Bracket Final.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-heading \">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">VCT EMEA Stage 1 Groups<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>VCT EMEA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MYRNf6V87Mk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Group Alpha<\/a> includes Gentle Mates and Team Liquid, two of the three teams that qualified for <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2025\/12\/valorant-masters-santiago-ticket-sales-revealed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Masters Santiago<\/a>. However, Group Omega seems more stacked across the board, featuring EMEA giants such as Fnatic and GIANTX.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>Moreover, ULF Esports and Team Vitality will field their full rosters during Stage 1, as all of their players will have turned 18 by April.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Alpha<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Omega<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Gentle Mates<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">BBL Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Team Liquid<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Fnatic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Team Heretics<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Team Vitality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">NAVI<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">GIANTX<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Karmine Corps<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">ULF Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">FUT Esports<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">PCIFIC Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"esi-heading \">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">VCT Americas Stage 1 Groups<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>The groups for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yejr5A2u3eE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VCT Americas<\/a> look fairly even. Group Omega hosts two Masters Santiago teams, FURIA and NRG, while Group Alpha features the superteam MIBR. Lower-seeded teams across both groups, including Leviat\u00e1n and Sentinels, carry a lot of potential for improvement as the season progresses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>It is unclear at the moment whether KR\u00dc Esports\u2019 official line-up will have its <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2026\/01\/kru-esports-to-field-substitute-roster-for-vct-americas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visa issues<\/a> or if the LATAM organisation will have to continue competing with a substitute roster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Alpha<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Omega<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">G2 Esports<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">FURIA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">MIBR<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">NRG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Cloud 9<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">100 Thieves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Leviat\u00e1n\u00a0<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Evil Geniuses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">ENVY<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Sentinels<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">LOUD<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">KR\u00dc Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"esi-heading \">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">VCT Pacific Stage 1 Groups<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>VCT Pacific has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/BphA_KZGX1s?si=K7GD-Uz0OH1OZnsI&amp;t=19379\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">drawn<\/a> a stacked Group Alpha for Stage 1. In addition to Masters Santiago teams, Nongshim RedForce and Paper Rex, the group includes two big Pacific names, DRX and Gen.G Esports, as well as a promising dark horse in Global Esports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>Although Group Omega features up-and-coming teams such as DFM, FULL SENSE, and VARREL, they have been inconsistent or have underperformed so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Alpha<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Omega<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Nongshim RedForce<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">T1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Paper Rex<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">DRX<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Global Esports<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">FULL SENSE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Gen.G Esports<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">ZETA DIVISION<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Team Secret<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">VARREL<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"esi-heading \">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">VCT China Stage 1 Groups<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>VCT\u2019s youngest region has seen numerous upsets and unexpected results during Kickoff, making the Stage 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kCntOs21vjA&amp;t=17727s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">groups<\/a> fairly open. By the end of Kickoff, however, some of China\u2019s historically dominant organisations such as EDward Gaming and Bilibili Gaming, have come out on top or at least showed signs of life again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>Moreover, Group Omega is brimming with teams such as Dragon Ranger Gaming and Wolves Esports, which can easily upset bigger names.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Alpha<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Group Omega<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">All Gamers<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">XLG Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Bilibili Gaming<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">EDward Gaming<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">TYLOO<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Dragon Ranger Gaming<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">JD Gaming<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Trace Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Titan Esports Club<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Wolves Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">FunPlus Phoenix<\/td>\n<td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Nova Esports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n<p>2026 VCT Stage 1 across all International Leagues will kick off in April, following the conclusion of Masters Santiago, the first global event of the VCT 2026 competitive calendar. Stage 1 will also offer qualification for <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2025\/10\/vct-2026-locations-revealed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Masters London<\/a> taking place in June to every region\u2019s top three teams.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2026\/02\/2026-vct-stage-1-groups-americas-emea-pacific-china\">2026 VCT Stage 1 groups unveiled for Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/\">Esports Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/VCT_EMEA_Stage-1_Group_draw-large.jpg?ssl=1\" title=\"2026 VCT Stage 1 groups unveiled for Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China\" \/><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Image credit: Wojciech Wandzel\/Riot Games With the conclusion of the VCT 2026 Kickoff events across EMEA, Americas, Pacific and China, all 2026 VCT Stage 1 <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/esportsnewsnetwork.net\/?p=23256\" title=\"2026 VCT Stage 1 groups unveiled for Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.4 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the conclusion of the VCT 2026 Kickoff events across EMEA, Americas, Pacific and China, all 2026 VCT Stage 1 groups have been drawn. 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