Esport MeEsports World Cup confirms VALORANT return for 2027 as VCT shifts to Open model
VALORANT will feature at the Esports World Cup for a third straight year in 2027, though changes to VCT's partner structure could reshape which organisations field teams in the Club Championship.
The Esports World Cup has confirmed VALORANT will return to its 2027 lineup, marking the game's third consecutive year at the Saudi-backed festival, according to Esports.gg News.
No dates, venue, prize pool or qualification path for VALORANT at EWC 2027 have been confirmed. The outlet reports EWC returns in Summer 2027 but has not fixed a schedule.
VALORANT becomes the 18th title confirmed for next year's edition, joining a lineup that already includes Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, Rocket League, Fortnite, Call of Duty, PUBG, Street Fighter 6 and Teamfight Tactics among others, Esports.gg News reports.
LOUD are set to arrive at EWC 2027 as Champions 2026 winners, per the outlet's reporting.
VALORANT has featured at EWC since 2025, when Team Heretics beat Fnatic in the final to claim the lion's share of a $1.25 million prize pool. The pot grew to $2 million in 2026, with 100 Thieves beating NRG in the final to take home $600K, according to Esports.gg News.
The bigger structural story for 2027 concerns VCT itself. The league is moving away from a closed system of partnered regional teams towards a more open ecosystem built around more frequent qualifiers, with partnered organisations no longer guaranteed places at the top level.
That shift changes the incentives for how esports organisations sign rosters. Clubs that compete in the EWC Club Championship but sit outside the 32 teams holding VCT 2027 partner status now have reason to scout Open-circuit five-stacks and sign standout lineups after they prove themselves in qualifiers, rather than relying on existing partner rosters.
Esports.gg News notes this could ripple through the Esports World Cup's own Club Partnership Program. Of the 32 organisations holding VCT 2027 partner status, only 20 were part of the EWC 2026 Club Partnership Program.
Looking the other way, 14 of the 16 teams that competed in VALORANT at EWC 2026 belong to organisations now holding VCT 2027 partner status. The two exceptions are Global Esports and Nongshim RedForce, both from the Pacific region, per the outlet.
Esports.gg News points out that if the EWC VALORANT format stays at 16 teams, the pool of 32 VCT partners should comfortably cover the field. Even so, the outlet flags a non-zero chance that an amateur five-stack could impress in Open Qualifiers, get signed by an EWC Club Partner that lacks VCT partner status, and end up competing at EWC 2027 under that organisation's banner.