Who are the favorites for VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026?

The biggest event of the year is awaiting in Shanghai for the VALORANT Champions 2026 tournament, where 16 of the best teams in the world go head-to-head for the $1,000,000 in first prize! We have taken a look at the different teams and who the favorites for the event are.

S-Tier: The Championship Favorites

• 100 Thieves (Americas, Seed 1): The North American roster of Asuna, Cryocells, Timotino, vora, and bang enters Shanghai as the most decorated team of the late 2026 season. After securing the first-ever major international trophy at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris by defeating NRG 3-1, they captured the VCT Americas Stage 2 Championship. Anchoring heavily on Cryocells’ mechanical ceiling with the Operator and bang’s immaculate Controller spacing, they are the definitive tournament favorites.
• TYLOO (China, Seed 1): Lifting their first-ever regional trophy at VCT China Stage 2, the roster of slowly, Scales, Splash, Erv, and SiuFatBB arrives with unparalleled momentum. Under SiuFatBB’s command, TYLOO discarded their aim-heavy identity in favor of sophisticated mid-round calling, culminating in a flawless 3-0 sweep over Bilibili Gaming where slowly generated a massive 1.40 rating on Chamber.
• Karmine Corp (EMEA, Seed 1): The active roster features a blend of veteran stability and explosive youth with avez, SUYGETSU, dos9, LêwN, and N4RRATE. The acquisition of 19-year-old LêwN fundamentally altered the team’s ceiling, creating immense spatial pressure that is systematically capitalized upon by SUYGETSU’s world-class Sentinel utility.

• Global Esports (Pacific, Seed 1): The roster of Kr1stal, UdoTan, autumn, xavi8k, and PatMen overcame Nongshim RedForce to claim the Pacific Stage 2 crown. Operating primarily on Fade and Omen, PatMen maintained a 1.20 rating and a 0.87 kill-per-round ratio during the summer split, driving a chaotic yet synchronized aggression that overwhelms traditional default setups.

A-Tier: Prime Contenders

• NRG (Americas, Points #1): Built around veteran IGL Ethan Arnold, the roster features keiko, brawk, mada, and skuba. Maintaining deep map pool win rates, including 73% on Haven, NRG’s structural stability guarantees a deep playoff trajectory.
• LOUD (Americas, Seed 2): The loan acquisition of tkzin from KRÜ Spark provided the mechanical injection LOUD required to secure a second-place finish in Americas Stage 2. Their playstyle heavily emphasizes early-round map control and aggressive defensive pushing.

• EDward Gaming (China, Points #1): As the top Championship Points seed from China, EDG commands the home crowd advantage. With nobody maintaining an elite 75.0% KAST percentage and the addition of South Korean import stew, they blend aggressive Chinese mechanics with disciplined Pacific spacing.
• Team Liquid (EMEA, Seed 2): Powered by the tactical genius of nAts and the mechanical sharpness of kamo, the organization recently benched purp0 to promote 18-year-old academy Duelist GSR. This shift indicates a desire for more explosive entry pathing on the international stage.

B-Tier: The Playoff Threat Level

• Paper Rex (Pacific, Points #1): Comprising d4v41, f0rsakeN, Jinggg, something, and invy, PRX thrives in isolated skirmishes. Their defining characteristic continues to be their heavy tactical utilization of Yoru to bypass traditional choke points on maps like Lotus and Sunset.
• Nongshim RedForce (Pacific, Seed 2): The Korean roster of Xross, Dambi, Francis, Ivy, and Rb plays a highly clinical, fundamental style. They excel in post-plant scenarios and slow map control, making them a formidable opponent in the group stage format.
• JD Gaming (China, Seed 2): Led by IGL BerLIN, the core roster of jkuro, Yuicaw, zhe, and crownfisher has established a highly coordinated macro-game that isolates enemy site anchors, highly efficient on rotational maps like Ascent and Split.
• FUT Esports (EMEA, Points #1): Bringing a wealth of international experience, their mastery of distinct composition pairings keeps them in the playoff conversation. However, opponents have access to vast amounts of VOD data on their default setups, demanding rapid innovation.

C-Tier: Tournament Outsiders

• T1 (Pacific, Points #2): The roster of iZu, stax, Meteor, BuZz, DH, and Munchkin blends legacy talent with young mechanics. With stax transitioning to flexible roles alongside 20-year-old DH on Omen, their mid-round calling remains volatile.
• G2 Esports (Americas, Points #2): Relying heavily on defensive anchoring, their inability to consistently close out series against top-tier teams places them in the outsider category.
• Team Vitality (EMEA, Points #2): Battling structural instability throughout 2026, their macro-game lacks a unified vision. They rely heavily on individual heroics and must stabilize their role allocation immediately.
• XLG Esports (China, Points #2): Known for an exceptionally high mechanical ceiling, their over-reliance on dry-peeking and aggressive opening engagements creates a massive variance in potential outcomes against heavily structured opponents.

Group Stage Architecture

The initial draw for the GSL Group Stage ensures a collision of contrasting tactical philosophies. Teams must secure two best-of-three victories to advance to the eight-team double-elimination Playoffs bracket.

In Group A, 100 Thieves is favored to systematically dismantle T1’s volatile utility layering, while JD Gaming and FUT Esports presents a balanced stylistic clash. Group B will see Global Esports’ raw firepower test Team Vitality, alongside the marquee matchup of LOUD’s youth colliding with EDward Gaming’s veteran presence. Group C pits TYLOO’s newly acquired structure against G2’s defensive rigidity, while Team Liquid’s rookie GSR faces the chaotic executions of Paper Rex. Finally, Group D projects Karmine Corp to exploit XLG Esports’ lack of discipline, setting up a methodical chess match between Nongshim RedForce and NRG centered on ultimate economy management and fundamental map control.