The VCT Masters Shanghai is upon us and here is everything you will need to know.
We are now all set for the start of the VCT Masters Shanghai, which is set to take place from May 23rd to June 9 and it features the 12 best teams from around the world. This is the second VCT Masters event and the final one for the year before we look ahead towards VCT Champions, which is expected to start in August later this year.
VCT Masters Shanghai will also see a new team lift the trophy as the Masters Madrid winners failed to qualify during the VCT Americas Stage 1. Sentinels not making it to a second international LAN pretty much sums up the level of competition in North America recently. It also sees them miss out on crucial VCT Points that will come into play when Champions is around the corner.
VCT Masters Shanghai - Location
This is the first time an international VCT event is being held in China, which is also since it officially joined the franchise this year. Given that Shanghai is also China's biggest city, you can expect fans to arrive in droves to catch their favourite teams in action during the tournament. It will be held in two different locations: the Valo Arena and the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
The Valo Arena is also home to the VCT China franchise league where it hosted both the VCT China Stage 1 and Kickoff. The 400-seater indoor arena is located near the famed Huangpu River that flows through Shanghai. All matches will be played at the Valo Arena except for the last three days of the tournament. That will be at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, which also overlooks the river in the Pudong district of Shanghai.
VCT Masters Shanghai - Format & Schedule
Swiss Stage: 23rd - 27th May
Playoffs: 30th May - 9th June
VCT Masters Shanghai will follow the same format as Masters Madrid, starting with the Swiss Stage. However, what's different is that four top-seeded teams will already be in the playoffs instead of all 12 teams facing off from day one. Instead, the teams that finished second and third in their respective leagues will play in an eight-team Swiss Stage format.
All matches in the Swiss Stage are a best-of-three with the first round already being drawn. There will be three rounds in total as teams have to win two in a row to qualify for the playoffs. Teams that lose two rounds in a row will be eliminated from Masters Shanghai. Out of the eight teams in the Swiss Stage, only four will make it to the next phase.
As for the playoffs, that will feature four teams from the Swiss Stage and four of the top-seeded teams that won its regional VCT Stage 1 tournaments. The top-seeded teams will get to choose their opponents in the first round from a random order with all matches being a best-of-three, bar the lower bracket final and grand final. Those will be a best-of-five. And of course, the playoffs will be a double-elimination bracket.
The entirety of the Swiss Stage will be played in the Valo Arena alongside most of the playoffs with the last three days of the tournament being moved to the Mercedes-Benz Arena. This will be the upper bracket final, the lower bracket final, and the grand finals.
VCT Masters Shanghai - Prize Pool
There is a total prize pool of $1 million USD to be split between 12 teams with the champion walking away with the lion's share of $350,000. The champion will also walk away with 3 VCT Points, which will come into play once Champions is around the corner. This is especially crucial for teams at Masters Shanghai that have yet to win any VCT Points.
| Placement | Prize Pool | VCT Points |
1st | $350,000 | 3 |
2nd | $200,000 | - |
3rd | $125,000 | - |
4th | $75,000 | - |
5th - 6th | $50,000 | - |
7th - 8th | $35,000 | - |
9th - 10th | $25,000 | - |
11th - 12th | $15,000 | - |
VCT Masters Shanghai - Teams
Direct Playoff Seeds
100 Thieves
EDward Gaming
Fnatic
Paper Rex
Swiss Stage
Dragon Ranger Gaming
FunPlus Phoenix
FUT Esports
G2 Esports
Gen.G Esports
Leviatán
T1
Team Heretics
VCT Masters Shanghai - How & Where to Watch
There will be two matches a day during the Swiss Stage from 23rd to 27th May while the playoffs will happen from 30th May to 9th June. You can catch the live stream on VALORANT Esports official Twitch channel here or even on its official YouTube channel here.
