Riot to pay non-partnered VCT teams up to $1.1 million

Riot Games will introduce fixed milestone payments for non-partnered VALORANT Champions Tour teams at the start of the 2027-28 season. The payments will be separate from tournament prize money, which totals more than $6 million worldwide.

Independent organisations will receive $100,000 for qualifying for Kickoff, Cup 1 or Cup 2. Qualification for each Masters tournament will pay $200,000, while reaching Champions will bring $400,000. A team that qualifies for every listed stage in one season can receive $1.1 million.

A non-partnered organisation whose roster reaches the Game Changers Championship will receive an additional $100,000.

The payments will apply to teams that reach designated stages of the VCT without holding a partnership with Riot. The company said the system is intended to make the open competitive path more realistic for smaller and grassroots organisations.

Partnered teams will not receive milestone payments. Instead, Riot provides them with an annual base payment for retaining their league places, supporting team operations and helping develop the competition. Riot has not disclosed the amount.

Riot is also reducing the number of partnered teams in each region from 10 to eight. From 2023 through 2026, most direct financial support went to partnered organisations, while teams in the second-tier Challengers circuit received little funding from Riot.

Challengers teams generally paid for players, coaches, travel and other operating costs themselves. Prize money was their main source of income. In 2026, Riot introduced a one-time $75,000 travel allowance for Challengers teams that qualified for the Stage 2 Playoffs of a top-tier International League. The allowance covered travel, visas and accommodation.

Under the new system, independent teams will receive money when they qualify for major events, regardless of their final tournament placement.

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