Are VCT team slots at risk? Valorant esports boss addresses rumors

As rumors spark up about certain VCT team slots being reevaluated for the 2025 season, Valorant esports’ boss has addressed the rumors.

VCT is in its off-season as Ascension gears up to decide who will be the next batch of teams to join the top regional leagues. However, in the middle of it all, speculation surrounding certain teams has bubbled up, with talks of some having their partnership slots revoked.

According to a VCT insider, Tanmay, MIBR’s and Global Esports’ VCT partnership slots were up for evaluation after the 2025 season by Riot, with other teams also being considered.

But shortly after the rumors began to spread, the Global Head of Valorant esports, Leo Faria, denied them.

“The speculation that we’re currently reevaluating certain teams’ partnership status in the VCT is false,” said Faria.

“We do a performance review of every team at the end of each season, and will reevaluate all teams ahead of the new partnership cycle in 2027.”

The initial 30 teams in America, Pacific, and EMEA all signed four-year contracts to stay in their leagues. Once the contract is up, Riot can choose to either offer them another one or allow it to expire and pick a new organization.

This, as Faria says, will continue as normal and no team’s partnership contract is going up for revaluation earlier than expected. This means currently partnered teams will still be in the league until the end of 2026.

However, when the time comes and teams currently with a partnership slot aren’t offered a new contract, Faria has said that orgs in Challengers will be “first in line” for consideration of a partnership slot.

The only thing partnered orgs will have to worry about every year until 2026 is a performance review, which includes a rundown of their team’s overall success in of the season.