Esport MeManila Set to Host Pacific's Opening VCT Cup of 2027 Season
The Philippine capital will stage Cup 1 for the Pacific region from 29 April to 23 May 2027, part of a reshaped VALORANT Champions Tour calendar spanning 15 cities worldwide.
Manila has been confirmed as the host city for the Pacific region's first VCT Cup of the 2027 season, running from 29 April to 23 May, according to Esports.net News.
The tournament forms part of a wider season featuring more than 50 events across 15 cities, with Manila's Cup 1 running alongside three sister events on the same dates: Mexico City for Americas, Warsaw for EMEA and Wuhan for China. Teams at all four events will be chasing places at Masters Valencia.
The route to Manila begins much earlier in the calendar. Regional Kickoff tournaments open the season between 14 January and 7 February 2027, with Pacific's Kickoff set for Bangkok. Masters Seoul follows from 20 February to 3 March, giving the region two major fixtures before Cup 1 even arrives.
After Manila, the international circuit shifts to Masters Valencia, scheduled for 5 to 20 June. Pacific then returns to the agenda with its second Cup of the year, set for Tokyo between 5 and 29 August.
The season concludes in Austin, where VALORANT Champions and the Game Changers Championship are both scheduled to run from 16 September to 10 October. Across the full calendar, Riot has named three host cities specifically for Pacific: Bangkok, Manila and Tokyo.
Esports.net News reports that the Manila announcement sits within a broader restructuring of the tour's format, with Riot increasing both the number of tournaments and the number of host locations compared with previous seasons.
The competitive path toward Manila starts well before April. Open qualifiers begin in November 2026, giving non-partnered teams their first chance to reach the 2027 season. Citing VLR's calendar report, Esports.net News notes that qualification for Kickoff appearances carries a $100,000 stipend, offering a concrete early target for teams outside the partnered league structure.
Several practical details remain unconfirmed. No venue within Manila, ticket pricing, on-sale dates or a schedule for matches played in front of a live audience had been announced at the time of Esports.net's report.
For teams, the immediate marker on the calendar is the opening of 2027 qualifiers in November. For fans, the Manila Cup's dates are locked in, but venue and ticketing information are still to follow.