VALORANT Masters Santiago: Schedule, teams, results, format, more

VALORANT Masters Santiago was the first international LAN of the 2026 VCT season, bringing the world’s best teams to Chile from the end of February to mid-March.

Masters Santiago came right after the new triple-elimination Kickoff tournaments, where eight squads started in a Swiss Stage, while four league winners waited in the Playoffs with a straight shot at the trophy and Championship Points, and also revealed Miks, the new Agent.

Here’s everything you need to know about VALORANT Masters Santiago, including the format, results, and more.

VALORANT Masters Santiago start and end dates

VALORANT Masters Santiago ran from Feb. 28 to March 15, 2026. The tournament was divided into three main blocks: the Swiss Stage, Playoffs, and the final weekend, during which matches are held on most days between these dates.

The tournament was hosted at Espacio Riesco in Santiago, Chile, marking Latin America’s first time hosting a Masters event.

Masters Santiago matches and results

Here’s what the schedule looks like:

Swiss Stage

• Feb. 28, Saturday – Swiss Stage
  • Gentle Mates 2 – 0 EDward Gaming
    • 13-11 Haven
    • 13-7 Pearl
  • XLG Esports 0 – 2 NRG
    • 2-13 Haven
    • 10-13 Abyss
• March 1, Sunday – Swiss Stage
  • G2 Esports 0 – 2 Paper Rex
    • 9-13 Split
    • 5-13 Corrode
  • T1 0 – 2 Team Liquid
    • 8-13 Breeze
    • 13-15 Split
• March 2, Monday – Swiss Stage
  • Paper Rex 2 – 1 NRG
    • 13-10 Split
    • 10-13 Pearl
    • 13-11 Haven
  • Gentle Mates 2 – 0 Team Liquid
    • 13-11 Pearl
    • 13-3 Bind
• March 3, Tuesday – Swiss Stage
  • EDward Gaming 0 – 2 T1
    • 1-13 Bind
    • 10-13 Haven
  • XLG Esports 0 – 2 G2 Esports
    • 8-13 Abyss
    • 3-13 Haven
• March 4, Wednesday – Swiss Stage
  • NRG 2 – 0 Team Liquid
    • 13-11 Breeze
    • 13-4 Abyss
  • G2 Esports vs T1
    • 13-6 Breeze
    • 16-14 Haven

Playoffs Stage

• March 6, Friday – Playoffs Stage
  • FURIA 1 – 2 Paper Rex (Upper Quarterfinals)
    • 13-9 Haven
    • 4-13 Breeze
    • 7-13 Split
  • Nongshim RedForce 2 – 0 Gentle Mates (Upper Quarterfinals)
    • 13-10 Haven
    • 13-10 Corrode
• March 7, Saturday – Playoffs Stage
  • BBL Esports 1 – 2 NRG (Upper Quarterfinals)
    • 6-13 Pearl
    • 13-6 Abyss
    • 15-17 Split
  • All Gamers 0 – 2 G2 Esports (Upper Quarterfinals)
    • 6-13 Split
    • 4-13 Abyss
• March 8, Sunday – Playoffs Stage
  • FURIA 1 – 2 BBL Esports (Lower Round 1)
    • 7-13 Haven
    • 13-10 Breeze
    • 11-13 Abyss
  • Gentle Mates 1 – 2 All Gamers (Lower Round 1)
    • 13-5 Pearl
    • 4-13 Split
    • 8-13 Bind

FURIA and Gentle Mates were eliminated from the tournament, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively.

• March 9, Monday – Playoffs Stage
  • Nongshim RedForce 2 – 1 G2 Esports (Upper Semifinals)
    • 7-13 Abyss
    • 13-7 Corrode
    • 14-12 Split
  • Paper Rex 0 – 2 NRG (Upper Semifinals)
    • 12-14 Pearl
    • 11-13 Bind
• March 10, Tuesday – Playoffs Stage
  • Paper Rex 2 – 1 All Gamers (Lower Round 2)
    • 10-13 Corrode
    • 13-7 Pearl
    • 13-4 Split
  • G2 Esports 2 – 0 BBL Esports (Lower Round 2)
    • 13-5 Haven
    • 13-8 Breeze

All Gamers and BBL Esports were eliminated from the tournament, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. There are no matches on March 11 and 12.

Finals

• March 13, Friday
  • Nongshim RedForce 2 – 0 NRG (Upper Final)
    • 13-9 Bind
    • 13-11 Abyss
  • Paper Rex 2 – 1 G2 Esports (Lower Round 3)
    • 11-13 Haven
    • 13-9 Breeze
    • 13-4 Corrode

G2 Esports got eliminated, ending fourth in the tournament.

• March 14, Saturday – Lower Bracket Final
  • NRG 1 – 3 Paper Rex
    • 13-8 Pearl
    • 7-13 Split
    • 6-13 Corrode
    • 9-13 Breeze

NRG got eliminated from the tournament, finishing third.

• March 15, Sunday – Grand Final
  • Nongshim RedForce 3 – 0 Paper Rex
    • 13-11 Corrode
    • 13-4 Split
    • 13-3 Abyss

Nongshim RedForce won Masters Santiago, PRX were the runner-up.

Riot locked Masters Santiago into the core VCT schedule, right after the regional Kickoff events and before Stage 1 league play. It also served as an early checkpoint on the road to Champions Shanghai later in the year, with Championship Points on the line for every team that attended.

Masters Santiago format

Masters Santiago used a two-stage structure: a Swiss Stage, followed by a double-elimination Playoff bracket.

All Swiss Stage matches were best-of-three, and this part of the event ran from Feb. 28 to March 4, featuring eight teams, including the second and third-place finishers from each regional Kickoff event in China, Pacific, EMEA, and Americas.

The four teams that finished the Swiss Stage at 2-0 or 2-1 moved on to join the four waiting league winners in the Playoff bracket. It was also during the Swiss Stage when Riot had to redo the Round 2 bracket after a live draw error.

It then shifted into a double-elimination Playoff bracket running from March 6 to 15. The four regional Kickoff winners were top seeds, joined by the four surviving teams from the Swiss Stage.
Most Playoff matches were best-of-three, but the lower bracket final and grand final were best-of-five.

All qualified teams at VALORANT Masters Santiago

Masters Santiago brought together 12 teams from the four international leagues. The path was the same across all regions, which was to emerge among the top three.

Americas

• FURIA (1st in 2026 Kickoff)
• G2 Esports (2nd in 2026 Kickoff)
• NRG (3rd in 2026 Kickoff)

EMEA

• BBL Esports (1st in 2026 Kickoff)
• Gentle Mates (2nd in 2026 Kickoff)
• Team Liquid (3rd in 2026 Kickoff)

Pacific

• Nongshim RedForce (1st in 2026 Kickoff)
• T1 (2nd in 2026 Kickoff)
• Paper Rex (3rd in 2026 Kickoff)

China

• All Gamers (1st in 2026 Kickoff)
• Xi Lai Gaming (2nd in 2026 Kickoff)
• EDward Gaming (3rd in 2026 Kickoff)

Teams that came first from each league’s Kickoff skip the Swiss Stage and go straight to the Playoff bracket as a top seed.

The second and third-placed teams from each Kickoff started in the Swiss Stage and must win through to reach the Playoffs.

VALORANT Masters Santiago prize pool

The total prize pool of the Masters Santiago is $1,000,000, and the table below shows how the entire amount was divided among teams:

How to watch Masters Santiago VODs

Like always, you can catch VALORANT Masters Santiago VODs on their official Twitch and YouTube channels.