The VALORANT Champions 2026 playoffs are officially underway, but the on-stage action is currently battling for the spotlight against massive off-stage roster drama. From broken verbal agreements in the EMEA region to sudden coaching changes in Pacific, the offseason chaos has already begun for teams eliminated from the tournament.
Here is a full breakdown of the latest VCT roster leaks, map pool rumors, and what to expect from the ongoing Champions playoffs.
The EMEA Roster Chaos: Heretics, Vitality, and Gentle Mates
The European region is currently dealing with a chaotic game of musical chairs involving some of the most promising young talent in the scene.
According to recent leaks, a massive bidding war and a series of broken verbal agreements have occurred regarding the 16-year-old phenom player, Cozy (who will be eligible to play next year as the age restriction drops to 17).
- The Broken Agreement: Rumors suggest Cozy initially had a verbal agreement to join Team Heretics a month ago. However, he reportedly backed out of this deal to join Team Vitality because he wanted to play alongside saadhak.
- The Gentle Mates Pivot: The drama didn’t stop there. Reports indicate that either Vitality offered a different financial package, or perhaps their partnership status was unconfirmed, leading Cozy to pivot again and ultimately sign with Gentle Mates.
This move has apparently pushed Marteen out of the Gentle Mates roster. The CEO of Heretics allegedly stated that they cut ties with Marteen after he asked for an “astronomical” salary—reportedly higher than star players like Benjyfishy and RieNs—despite his past performance.
Because of this fallout, Team Heretics is reportedly moving forward with a roster of Jamalinho, benjyfishy, RieNs, chloric, and Hero. This means star player Wo0t will likely not be returning to Heretics next season due to sub-region roster rules.
Pacific Shakeups: DRX Drops termi
The roster moves aren’t isolated to Europe. Following a highly disappointing 2026 season where they failed to qualify for Champions, Korean powerhouse DRX has reportedly sacked their long-time head coach, termi.
This information was accidentally leaked during a live stream by Gen.G head coach Solo, who admitted that he and termi had discussed termi being fired over drinks. After years of consistently representing the Pacific region on the international stage, DRX is clearly looking for a hard reset heading into 2027.
Map Pool Rumors: The Return of Pearl and Icebox Rework?
A recent VALORANT trailer has sparked intense speculation about the competitive map pool.
- Pearl Returns? The trailer showed distinct changes to the map Pearl (specifically, boxes replaced by a solid wall on the B-site). Leakers are highly confident that Pearl is returning to the active map pool soon, likely replacing either Ascent or Haven.
- Icebox Rework: Data miners also noted that it has been a very long time since any updates regarding Icebox have surfaced. This has led to speculation that Riot is currently giving Icebox a massive, ground-up rework similar to what was done with Breeze, specifically targeting the highly contested “Mid” area.
Champions Playoffs Underway
While the eliminated teams scramble to rebuild, the actual World Championship is in full swing.
The playoffs have started with a bang. NRG is currently looking incredibly dominant, securing a 1-0 series lead over T1 after closing out a massive second-half comeback on Lotus (13-11). With the Americas region looking strong, many analysts are predicting that either NRG or 100 Thieves (the only #1 regional seed to make it out of groups) will ultimately lift the trophy.
The highly anticipated matchup between 100 Thieves and the newly revamped G2 roster is set for tomorrow, which will serve as a massive test for both North American squads.
