Riot Ends Liga ACE Partnership Ahead of 2027 VCT

Riot Games will end its partnership with Mexican tournament organiser Liga ACE before the 2027 VALORANT Champions Tour season. The upcoming LATAM Kickoff Qualifiers will be Liga ACE’s final VCT event.

Riot will directly produce the LATAM Finals, Kickoff and Last Chance Qualifier under a new operating model for the Latin American and North American Open circuits. The events will take place at Riot’s esports studio in São Paulo, Brazil.

Riot has not confirmed whether it will appoint another third-party organiser or continue running the LATAM and North American Open qualification pathways itself in 2027. It also has not announced when the new arrangements will begin beyond confirming Liga ACE’s departure.

Liga ACE was founded in 2020 and began organising VALORANT competitions in 2022 through the ACE Champions Series. It became the operator of the Challengers leagues in Latin America North and South in 2023, then took responsibility for North American Challengers in 2025.

The organiser faced criticism after technical problems disrupted the VALORANT Challengers 2026 Americas LCQ. The grand final between Shopify Rebellion Black and 2Game continued over two days because of network instability, long interruptions and broadcast outages. A later rollback of one round prompted further criticism of the event’s administration.

An investigation published after the event included allegations of internal mismanagement, problems with refereeing procedures and poor working conditions at Liga ACE. Earlier reporting had indicated that the organiser was expected to retain its contract for the 2027 circuit. Riot announced the partnership’s end hours later.

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