From 2027, non-partner teams that qualify get fixed payments on top of prize money: $100k for Kickoff or a Cup, $200k for Masters and $400k for Champions.
Back to the trend of the day: Riot's VALORANT world circuit replaces four-year leagues with open tournaments in 2027
Poly Rating · from the trend of the day
Best VALORANT Teams Ranking 2026: Top 10 for the 2027 Cups
LOUD became the first team to win VALORANT Champions twice, beating Team Vitality 3–1 in Shanghai on 18 October 2026, and from 2027 even LOUD is guaranteed only a Kickoff seat, not a Cup place.
- No. 1: LOUD
- 10 places
01Final list
The leading AIs each built their own list of ten independently. Here is one result that is easy to check: every place has a reason, a source, and the list of AIs that included it.
Order: from most to least AI agreement.
A bright badge means this AI put the entry on its list. A dim badge means it did not.
- 1
LOUD
First team to win Champions twice, beating Vitality 3–1 in Shanghai for $1M. VLR's 2026 points table still rates it only 45.00, behind 100 Thieves.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 1 · ChatGPT: 3 · Grok: 1 · Gemini: 8 · Kimi: 2 · DeepSeek: 1 · Qwen: 1
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 1
First team to win Champions twice (2022, then 2026), and the biggest prize-money total in VALORANT history at about $2.03M.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 3
The 2026 Champions win is the season’s biggest result, and their 2022 title gives the organization unusually deep championship history.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 1
First team to win two VALORANT Champions titles (2022 and 2026), banking $1M from Shanghai alone while locking a 2027 partner Kickoff seat.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 8
South America's premier banner reached the Champions 2026 Grand Final, yet lost 3 of 5 matches against Ascension rosters during off-season cups.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 2
World champions on Sunday, first organization ever with two Champions titles — won with a rookie roster that finished LAST at Kickoff in January.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 1
Won Champions 2026 and lost only one series all tournament — the cleanest result-plus-title case in the world.
Source ↗ - Qwenplace 1
The reigning 2026 world champions who enter the open era as the team everyone else is chasing.
Source ↗
7 AIs put it here - 2
Team Vitality
Runner-up at Champions 2026 ($400,000) after a lower-bracket run, and 4th at Masters London. It went deep at both 2026 world events without winning a trophy.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 3 · ChatGPT: 4 · Grok: 5 · Gemini: 7 · Kimi: 1 · DeepSeek: 2 · Qwen: 2
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 3
Runner-up at Champions 2026 after coming through the lower bracket. It earned $400,000 in one event, half of its roughly $806,000 all-time total.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 4
A Champions final and fourth at Masters London show a high 2026 floor, though both global finals ended short of the trophy.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 5
Reached the Champions 2026 grand final (lost 1-3 to LOUD) for the second-highest 2026 prize total among non-winners.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 7
Surged into the Champions 2026 Grand Final behind a lethal European mix, posting a 9-1 record against Tier-2 promotion tournament teams.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 1
The No.1-rated team on VLR.gg (2000 pts) the morning after losing the world final — the algorithm's champion without the trophy.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 2
The only team to beat LOUD at Champions 2026, then lost the rematch; runner-up money was $400,000.
- Qwenplace 2
The 2026 runner-up that proved European dominance is not tied to a league seat.
Source ↗
7 AIs put it here - 3
Paper Rex
Three Masters finals in a row: won Toronto 2025, lost Santiago and London 2026. All-time prize is $1.56M on Esports Earnings but $2.33M on Liquipedia.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 2 · ChatGPT: 1 · Grok: 4 · Gemini: 6 · Kimi: 4 · DeepSeek: 5 · Qwen: 6
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 2
Played in three Masters finals in a row (Toronto 2025, Santiago 2026, London 2026) and won one. Its 35 tournaments are the most of the top three earners.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 1
Two 2026 Masters runner-up finishes put them at the top of the consistency test, even without a 2026 international title.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 4
All-time VALORANT prize-money leader (~$2.39M) with back-to-back Masters finals appearances in 2026.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 6
Maintained an unmatched 83% international playoff qualification streak across four seasons, thriving in high-chaos bracket dynamics.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 4
The all-time prize-money leader ($2.33M) has never won Champions — but it keeps reaching the bracket stages that will still exist in 2027.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 5
Two Masters silver medals in 2026, but no international title and a 7th–8th finish at Champions.
Source ↗ - Qwenplace 6
The Toronto masters winners and London runner-up who play the most fearless VALORANT on earth.
Source ↗
7 AIs put it here - 4
Leviatán
Won Masters London 2026 3–2 over Paper Rex ($350,000), then failed to qualify for Champions. That is the widest 2026 split among these ten.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen. Did not include: Meta, Gemini, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 7 · ChatGPT: 2 · Grok: 7 · Kimi: 7 · DeepSeek: 7 · Qwen: 3
What each AI noted 6
- Claudeplace 7
Won Masters London 2026 as a Latin American side, the same Americas stage where it had come through as a seeded region leader.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 2
A London championship and $350,000 prize make their 2026 international peak the strongest single-event claim in this group.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 7
Won Masters London 2026 and ranked #1 in Liquipedia Global Power Rankings (1486) as of mid-October.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 7
Won Masters London in June before 1.07 million peak viewers — the largest VALORANT audience of 2026 — then missed Shanghai entirely.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 7
Won Masters London, then failed to qualify for Champions 2026 — the widest 2026 split inside the top 10.
- Qwenplace 3
Masters London winners who shattered the ceiling for LATAM on the global stage.
Source ↗
6 AIs put it here - 5
EDward Gaming
Won Champions 2024 and took 3rd at Masters London 2026 ($125,000), but went out in the Champions 2026 group stage with $20,000.
Included it: ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen. Did not include: Claude, Meta, Wenxin.In their lists: ChatGPT: 6 · Grok: 10 · Gemini: 1 · Kimi: 10 · DeepSeek: 9 · Qwen: 4
What each AI noted 6
- ChatGPTplace 6
China’s 2024 Champions title remains a major result, and third at Masters London 2026 supplies recent evidence beyond legacy.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 10
2024 Champions winners who still posted deep 2026 results and retain a China partner seat for the open era.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 1
Won Champions 2024 and swept 8 consecutive regional titles without dropping a single series to tier-2 open-qualifier challengers.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 10
Champions 2024 winners with $1.57M banked — but at Champions 2026 they were swept out of groups by LOUD and open-qualifier Global Esports.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 9
China’s highest VLR 2026 score (18.20) and a Masters London top-three finish, but a Champions group exit.
- Qwenplace 4
The 2024 world champions and undisputed kings of the Chinese server.
Source ↗
6 AIs put it here - 6
NRG
Won Champions 2025, then took 3rd at Masters Santiago and 5th–6th in Shanghai. Its prize total runs from under $0.8M to $1.97M depending on the tracker.
Included it: Claude, Grok, Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 4 · Grok: 6 · Kimi: 5 · DeepSeek: 6 · Qwen: 7
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 4
Champions 2025 winner that went 5th–6th at Champions 2026 and 3rd at Masters Santiago. It has two top-six finishes at world level in the last 12 months.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 6
Finished 2nd at Esports World Cup 2026 and held a top-5 Liquipedia power ranking while retaining partner status.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 5
Reigning world champions until about 15 hours ago — LOUD ended their title defense in the Shanghai upper semifinal.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 6
Defending world champion and EWC 2026 runner-up, but only 5th–6th in Shanghai — a high floor, not the 2026 peak.
Source ↗ - Qwenplace 7
The 2025 Paris champions who hold a guaranteed seat in the new 2027 partnership cycle.
Source ↗
5 AIs put it here - 7
G2 Esports
4th at both Champions 2026 and Masters Santiago, and runner-up at Masters Bangkok 2025. Consistent deep runs, but no 2026 trophy.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Kimi, DeepSeek. Did not include: Meta, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.In their lists: Claude: 5 · ChatGPT: 10 · Grok: 8 · Kimi: 8 · DeepSeek: 8
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 5
Played 44 tournaments, more than any other top-15 earner, and reached the Champions 2026 semi-final stage.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 10
Their London top-eight result and high-profile Americas results give them a better current case than a pure legacy-title ranking would.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 8
Reached Champions 2026 playoffs and secured a 2027 partner seat after consistent regional deep runs.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 8
Beat 100 Thieves 2–0 and took a map off Vitality at Champions — the deepest 2026 international run of any team ranked below 1900 on VLR.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 8
Fourth at Champions 2026 and fourth at EWC, but no 2026 international trophy — the most consistent non-winner.
5 AIs put it here - 8
100 Thieves
Won the Esports World Cup 2026 ($600,000), a non-Riot event, and took 3rd at Champions ($250,000). VLR's 2026 points table puts it first at 55.50.
Included it: Claude, Grok, Kimi, DeepSeek. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.In their lists: Claude: 6 · Grok: 2 · Kimi: 3 · DeepSeek: 3
What each AI noted 4
- Claudeplace 6
Finished 3rd at Champions 2026 from Group A's top seed. It beat NRG 2–0 and Nongshim RedForce 2–1 in the lower bracket.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 2
Won the $2M Esports World Cup and finished 3rd at Champions 2026 for ~$950k in a single year while securing a partner seat.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 3
The only team with two 2026 trophies from two different organizers: Esports World Cup champions in July, third at Champions in October.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 3
Won EWC 2026 and took Champions bronze; VLR’s weighted 2026 table still puts them first at 55.50.
Source ↗
4 AIs put it here - 9
Nongshim RedForce
Won Masters Santiago 3–0 ($350,000), then finished 7th–8th at Champions. Strafe says it was denied a 2027 partner seat; a leaked VLR list says it kept one.
Included it: Claude, Grok, Kimi, DeepSeek. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.In their lists: Claude: 8 · Grok: 3 · Kimi: 6 · DeepSeek: 4
What each AI noted 4
- Claudeplace 8
Won Masters Santiago 3–0, then went out in the Champions 2026 quarter-finals. That is a title with a thinner record around it.
Source ↗ - Grokplace 3
Won Masters Santiago 2026 and posted the third-highest 2026 prize total ($685k) after rising from Challengers.
Source ↗ - Kimiplace 6
Won Masters Santiago in March, then made Champions playoffs in October — the most complete 2026 of any Pacific-region team.
Source ↗ - DeepSeekplace 4
Won Masters Santiago 3-0, then was left out of Riot’s 2027 partner list — the purest proof that results travel but seats do not.
4 AIs put it here - 10
T1
Won Masters Bangkok 2025. At Champions 2026 it lost 0–2 to NRG, beat Paper Rex 2–1, then fell to G2 for 5th–6th ($85,000).
Included it: Claude, Grok, Qwen. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Gemini, Kimi, DeepSeek, Wenxin.In their lists: Claude: 9 · Grok: see list · Qwen: 8
What each AI noted 3
- Claudeplace 9
Won Masters Bangkok 2025 for the Pacific region, then took 5th–6th at Champions 2026 without a single playoff series win in the upper bracket.
Source ↗ - Grok
Named differently in its own list: open the full list.
see list - Qwenplace 8
The Bangkok masters champions who carry the legacy of South Korean tactical dominance.
3 AIs put it here
02Worth knowing
What the AIs noticed while building the list.
Partner seats drop from 10 to 8 per region and give only a Kickoff seat. Past that point every place is earned.
VLR's 2026 points table puts 100 Thieves first (55.50) and Champions winner LOUD only at 45.00, because it rewards four events, including the Esports World Cup.
Every 2026 world title went to a different team: Nongshim RedForce (Santiago), Leviatán (London), 100 Thieves (EWC) and LOUD (Champions).
DRX, Cloud9 and Shopify Rebellion were reported as denied 2027 partnership, so they start from the open qualifiers.
03Questions people ask
What is the best team in VALORANT?
LOUD, by results. It won Champions 2026 in Shanghai 3–1 over Team Vitality for $1,000,000, becoming the first team to win Champions twice.
Source ↗Why do VALORANT team rankings disagree?
They measure different things. VLR's 2026 points table rewards four events and puts 100 Thieves first at 55.50. Prize money and the Champions title put LOUD first.
Source ↗What are the best NA VALORANT teams?
100 Thieves won the Esports World Cup 2026 and took 3rd at Champions. G2 finished 4th and NRG, the 2025 world champion, 5th–6th.
Source ↗Which top VALORANT teams must open-qualify in 2027?
Strafe reports that Masters Santiago winner Nongshim RedForce, plus DRX, Cloud9 and Shopify Rebellion, were denied 2027 partner seats. A leaked VLR list disputes Nongshim's status.
Source ↗04How we counted
In plain words, no formulas.
1The question
Top 10 VALORANT Teams for the 2027 Open Cups: Who Has the Results and Who Had Only the Guaranteed Seat
2Why this topic
Prize money, results-based ratings and the new seeding rules each rank the teams differently, and only setting them side by side shows which top teams have earned their place and which were protected by their partner slot.
3Where it applies
Global VALORANT esports (VCT Americas, EMEA, Pacific and China), seasons 2023–2026, looking ahead to the 2027 Cups
4What we looked at
- Prize money won at international events (Masters and Champions) in 2023–2026, with 2026 counted most
- Rating from match results, which does not depend on prize pools
- Series record against non-partner and Challengers/Ascension teams over the last 24 months
- How deep the team got in 2026 regional and international stages
- Whether Riot's 2027 rules still give the team any seeding (for example a Kickoff seat), or whether it starts from the open qualifier
- Esports Earnings — VALORANT prize money per team, all-time and by event. The public table dates from 13 Sep 2026, before Champions 2026.
- VLR.gg: The TOP Teams of 2026 — A 2026 score built from placements at four events, not from prize money
- VLR.gg rankings — Ratings from match results, published separately for each region
5Who ranked
The leading AIs, each building its own list of ten independently and naming a source for every place: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi, DeepSeek, Wenxin, Qwen.
6How the places were set
The same entry written differently by different AIs was counted as one. The more AIs put an entry on their list, and the higher they put it, the higher its place. "AI agreement" shows how many of the AIs had it on their own list. Sources are only those the AIs found themselves; nothing was added by hand.
05Each AI's own list
🇺🇸 Claude10 places · 4 notes
The same question, answered by Claude alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1LOUD
First team to win Champions twice (2022, then 2026), and the biggest prize-money total in VALORANT history at about $2.03M.
Source ↗ - 2Paper Rex
Played in three Masters finals in a row (Toronto 2025, Santiago 2026, London 2026) and won one. Its 35 tournaments are the most of the top three earners.
Source ↗ - 3Team Vitality
Runner-up at Champions 2026 after coming through the lower bracket. It earned $400,000 in one event, half of its roughly $806,000 all-time total.
Source ↗ - 4NRG
Champions 2025 winner that went 5th–6th at Champions 2026 and 3rd at Masters Santiago. It has two top-six finishes at world level in the last 12 months.
Source ↗ - 5G2 Esports
Played 44 tournaments, more than any other top-15 earner, and reached the Champions 2026 semi-final stage.
Source ↗ - 6100 Thieves
Finished 3rd at Champions 2026 from Group A's top seed. It beat NRG 2–0 and Nongshim RedForce 2–1 in the lower bracket.
Source ↗ - 7Leviatán
Won Masters London 2026 as a Latin American side, the same Americas stage where it had come through as a seeded region leader.
Source ↗ - 8Nongshim RedForce
Won Masters Santiago 3–0, then went out in the Champions 2026 quarter-finals. That is a title with a thinner record around it.
Source ↗ - 9T1
Won Masters Bangkok 2025 for the Pacific region, then took 5th–6th at Champions 2026 without a single playoff series win in the upper bracket.
Source ↗ - 10Fnatic
Runner-up at Champions 2025 and Masters Toronto 2025, but absent from the 16-team Champions 2026 field. Of the ten, it is the one whose standing most depends on past results.
Source ↗
What Claude noticed
The 2027 payments to teams that qualify without a partner seat rise with the event. They are $100k for Kickoff or a Cup, $200k for Masters and $400k for Champions, with a further $100k if a non-partner reaches the Game Changers Championship. For a new qualifier, one Champions run pays as much as the Champions runner-up prize.
LOUD's 2026 title is the first second Champions win by any team. Its $1M from Shanghai lifts it above EDG, Paper Rex and Fnatic in the all-time prize table (the Esports Earnings snapshot may not yet include it).
Every 2026 Masters and Champions final was won by a different team: Nongshim RedForce (Santiago), Leviatán (London), LOUD (Champions). Paper Rex lost two finals, yet remains my #2.
Under the new rules Japan's two Pacific partners, ZETA DIVISION and DetonatioN FocusMe, missed Champions 2026, and Riot Japan said Ascension was the only route to Tier 1 for Japanese teams. Open qualifiers change that route.
🇺🇸 ChatGPT10 places · 3 notes
The same question, answered by ChatGPT alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Paper Rex
Two 2026 Masters runner-up finishes put them at the top of the consistency test, even without a 2026 international title.
Source ↗ - 2LEVIATÁN
A London championship and $350,000 prize make their 2026 international peak the strongest single-event claim in this group.
Source ↗ - 3LOUD
The 2026 Champions win is the season’s biggest result, and their 2022 title gives the organization unusually deep championship history.
Source ↗ - 4Team Vitality
A Champions final and fourth at Masters London show a high 2026 floor, though both global finals ended short of the trophy.
Source ↗ - 5Gen.G Esports
Their 2024 Masters Shanghai title and sustained international presence outweigh a less dominant 2026 case.
Source ↗ - 6EDward Gaming
China’s 2024 Champions title remains a major result, and third at Masters London 2026 supplies recent evidence beyond legacy.
Source ↗ - 7Sentinels
Their 2024 Masters Madrid trophy is the clearest recent international title among teams without a similarly strong 2026 global finish.
Source ↗ - 8Fnatic
The 2023 Masters Tokyo and Champions double remains a rare season-long peak, but older glory counts less in a 2027 form ranking.
Source ↗ - 9Team Heretics
A 2024 Masters final and 2026 London top-eight finish keep them in the conversation, but the 2026 evidence trails the leaders.
Source ↗ - 10G2 Esports
Their London top-eight result and high-profile Americas results give them a better current case than a pure legacy-title ranking would.
Source ↗
What ChatGPT noticed
The 2026 Masters London final was decided by a 3–2 series, with Leviatán taking the $350,000 first-place share and Paper Rex the $200,000 runner-up share.
The 2027 structure opens the path to global events through qualifiers; an old league seat is not equivalent to a proven open-qualifier result.
Prize money, match rating and access are different measures: Esports Earnings tracks winnings, VLR tracks match results, while Riot defines qualification paths.
🇺🇸 Grok10 places · 4 notes
The same question, answered by Grok alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1LOUD 2026
First team to win two VALORANT Champions titles (2022 and 2026), banking $1M from Shanghai alone while locking a 2027 partner Kickoff seat.
Source ↗ - 2100 Thieves 2026
Won the $2M Esports World Cup and finished 3rd at Champions 2026 for ~$950k in a single year while securing a partner seat.
Source ↗ - 3Nongshim RedForce 2026
Won Masters Santiago 2026 and posted the third-highest 2026 prize total ($685k) after rising from Challengers.
Source ↗ - 4Paper Rex 2026
All-time VALORANT prize-money leader (~$2.39M) with back-to-back Masters finals appearances in 2026.
Source ↗ - 5Team Vitality 2026
Reached the Champions 2026 grand final (lost 1-3 to LOUD) for the second-highest 2026 prize total among non-winners.
Source ↗ - 6NRG 2026
Finished 2nd at Esports World Cup 2026 and held a top-5 Liquipedia power ranking while retaining partner status.
Source ↗ - 7Leviatán 2026
Won Masters London 2026 and ranked #1 in Liquipedia Global Power Rankings (1486) as of mid-October.
Source ↗ - 8G2 Esports 2026
Reached Champions 2026 playoffs and secured a 2027 partner seat after consistent regional deep runs.
Source ↗ - 9T1 2026
Reached Champions 2026 playoffs (5th-6th) as a Pacific mainstay with reported 2027 partner status.
Source ↗ - 10EDward Gaming 2026
2024 Champions winners who still posted deep 2026 results and retain a China partner seat for the open era.
Source ↗
What Grok noticed
LOUD became the first organization with two Champions titles after their 3-1 win over Vitality in Shanghai on 18 October 2026.
Partner teams drop from 10 to 8 per region in 2027 and keep only a Kickoff seat; after that, advancement is purely performance-based.
Open teams that qualify receive fixed payments of $100k (Kickoff/Cup), $200k (Masters) or $400k (Champions) on top of prize pools.
Liquipedia’s match-result power rankings still placed Leviatán #1 even after LOUD’s Champions win, showing prize money and rating diverge.
🇺🇸 Gemini10 places · 2 notes
The same question, answered by Gemini alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1EDward Gaming
Won Champions 2024 and swept 8 consecutive regional titles without dropping a single series to tier-2 open-qualifier challengers.
Source ↗ - 2Gen.G Esports
Pacific's golden standard collected Masters Shanghai gold and Masters Madrid silver, never losing a map to Ascension invitees.
Source ↗ - 3Fnatic
The only Western club to capture back-to-back international trophies (LOCK//IN and Masters Tokyo) while retaining an 88% EMEA win rate.
Source ↗ - 4Team Heretics
Built almost entirely from tier-2 Ascension graduates, this roster reached two international grand finals in 2024 and proved immune to open-circuit churn.
Source ↗ - 5Sentinels
Won Masters Madrid 2024 in front of 1.68M peak viewers, but their 4-year guaranteed league slot masked a shaky 58% series rate against tier-2 scrim partners.
Source ↗ - 6Paper Rex
Maintained an unmatched 83% international playoff qualification streak across four seasons, thriving in high-chaos bracket dynamics.
Source ↗ - 7Team Vitality
Surged into the Champions 2026 Grand Final behind a lethal European mix, posting a 9-1 record against Tier-2 promotion tournament teams.
Source ↗ - 8LOUD
South America's premier banner reached the Champions 2026 Grand Final, yet lost 3 of 5 matches against Ascension rosters during off-season cups.
Source ↗ - 9DRX
Korean consistency delivered 8 international LAN appearances since 2023, boasting a pristine 15-0 all-time series record against Pacific Challengers.
Source ↗ - 10Evil Geniuses
Champions 2023 winners whose post-championship roster fire-sale left them winning only 28% of series in 2025–2026, relying purely on their franchise contract.
Source ↗
What Gemini noticed
Over 70% of teams that reached VCT international Grand Finals between 2024 and 2026 fielded at least two players signed directly from Challengers or Ascension circuits within the prior 18 months.
Legacy partner organizations like Evil Geniuses and Karmine Corp held top-15 prize pool earnings rankings exclusively due to 2023 prize money, despite failing to qualify for an international event throughout 2025 and 2026.
🇨🇳 Kimi10 places · 4 notes
The same question, answered by Kimi alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Team Vitality (EMEA)
The No.1-rated team on VLR.gg (2000 pts) the morning after losing the world final — the algorithm's champion without the trophy.
Source ↗ - 2LOUD (Brazil)
World champions on Sunday, first organization ever with two Champions titles — won with a rookie roster that finished LAST at Kickoff in January.
Source ↗ - 3100 Thieves (Americas)
The only team with two 2026 trophies from two different organizers: Esports World Cup champions in July, third at Champions in October.
Source ↗ - 4Paper Rex (Pacific)
The all-time prize-money leader ($2.33M) has never won Champions — but it keeps reaching the bracket stages that will still exist in 2027.
Source ↗ - 5NRG (Americas)
Reigning world champions until about 15 hours ago — LOUD ended their title defense in the Shanghai upper semifinal.
Source ↗ - 6Nongshim RedForce (Korea)
Won Masters Santiago in March, then made Champions playoffs in October — the most complete 2026 of any Pacific-region team.
Source ↗ - 7Leviatán (Americas)
Won Masters London in June before 1.07 million peak viewers — the largest VALORANT audience of 2026 — then missed Shanghai entirely.
Source ↗ - 8G2 Esports (Americas)
Beat 100 Thieves 2–0 and took a map off Vitality at Champions — the deepest 2026 international run of any team ranked below 1900 on VLR.
Source ↗ - 9Team Heretics (EMEA)
The highest-earning team without a Champions trophy ($1.53M) — its 2025 EWC title is exactly the kind of open-bracket success 2027 rewards.
Source ↗ - 10EDward Gaming (China)
Champions 2024 winners with $1.57M banked — but at Champions 2026 they were swept out of groups by LOUD and open-qualifier Global Esports.
Source ↗
What Kimi noticed
Vitality sits atop VLR.gg's algorithm (2000 pts) while LOUD holds the trophy — and Vitality only reached Shanghai through Championship Points, the league-era safety net that 2027's open Cups abolish. That split between rating and resume is exactly what this ranking is about.
LOUD's title is the open era's best preview: they finished last at the Americas Kickoff in January, rebuilt around rookies led by 18-year-old IGL erde, and beat Paper Rex, NRG and Vitality to become the first org with two Champions titles.
Global Esports — India's Ascension-era team — beat EDward Gaming 2–0 at Champions 2026 and reached the playoffs, the strongest result yet by a non-partner team against the league's flagship brands.
Every 2026 international produced a different champion: Nongshim RedForce (Masters Santiago), Leviatán (Masters London), 100 Thieves (EWC Paris), LOUD (Champions) — the most spread-out title year since the VCT began, which is why no money table settles the 2027 question.
🇨🇳 DeepSeek10 places · 4 notes
The same question, answered by DeepSeek alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1LOUD
Won Champions 2026 and lost only one series all tournament — the cleanest result-plus-title case in the world.
Source ↗ - 2Team Vitality
The only team to beat LOUD at Champions 2026, then lost the rematch; runner-up money was $400,000.
- 3100 Thieves
Won EWC 2026 and took Champions bronze; VLR’s weighted 2026 table still puts them first at 55.50.
Source ↗ - 4Nongshim RedForce
Won Masters Santiago 3-0, then was left out of Riot’s 2027 partner list — the purest proof that results travel but seats do not.
- 5Paper Rex
Two Masters silver medals in 2026, but no international title and a 7th–8th finish at Champions.
Source ↗ - 6NRG
Defending world champion and EWC 2026 runner-up, but only 5th–6th in Shanghai — a high floor, not the 2026 peak.
Source ↗ - 7Leviatán
Won Masters London, then failed to qualify for Champions 2026 — the widest 2026 split inside the top 10.
- 8G2 Esports
Fourth at Champions 2026 and fourth at EWC, but no 2026 international trophy — the most consistent non-winner.
- 9EDward Gaming
China’s highest VLR 2026 score (18.20) and a Masters London top-three finish, but a Champions group exit.
- 10Team Heretics
Still a top-10 all-time VALORANT prize team ($1.40M) with only 8.93 VLR points in 2026 — pedigree without a 2026 peak.
What DeepSeek noticed
VLR’s weighted 2026 table ranks 100 Thieves first (55.50), not Champions winner LOUD (45.00), because it counts four events and rewards EWC and consistent deep runs; that is a rating, not a prize table.
Nongshim won Masters Santiago, yet Riot’s 2027 partner list did not keep them — under the new rules that means an open qualifier, not a guaranteed Cup seat.
NRG’s VLR total winnings are $1,965,375, while Liquipedia lists about $1.56M and Esports Earnings lists $711,450 — the gap is not a different team, it is a different cut-off and event scope.
All four Champions 2026 semifinalists are in this top 10, but only one of them, Nongshim, is outside the partner system and must start from the open bracket.
🇨🇳 Qwen10 places · 3 notes
The same question, answered by Qwen alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1LOUD
The reigning 2026 world champions who enter the open era as the team everyone else is chasing.
Source ↗ - 2Team Vitality
The 2026 runner-up that proved European dominance is not tied to a league seat.
Source ↗ - 3Leviatán
Masters London winners who shattered the ceiling for LATAM on the global stage.
Source ↗ - 4EDward Gaming
The 2024 world champions and undisputed kings of the Chinese server.
Source ↗ - 5Fnatic
The 2023 titans who remain the EMEA region's most consistent international threat.
Source ↗ - 6Paper Rex
The Toronto masters winners and London runner-up who play the most fearless VALORANT on earth.
Source ↗ - 7NRG
The 2025 Paris champions who hold a guaranteed seat in the new 2027 partnership cycle.
Source ↗ - 8T1
The Bangkok masters champions who carry the legacy of South Korean tactical dominance.
- 9Gen.G
The Shanghai masters champions who proved APAC supremacy before the open era even began.
Source ↗ - 10DRX
The former league giants who must start from the open qualifiers after losing their 2027 partnership.
Source ↗
What Qwen noticed
DRX, Cloud9, and Shopify Rebellion were officially denied 2027 partnership status, forcing them to start their 2027 campaign in the Open Qualifiers despite their historical success.
Non-partner teams who qualify for Kickoff or a Cup receive a guaranteed $100,000 stipend from Riot, removing the financial risk of entering the open circuit.
LOUD's erde became the youngest MVP in Champions history at 18 after their 2026 victory in Shanghai, dedicating the win to his late mother.