With six teams being relegated from VALORANT’s tier-one ecosystem, VCT will make room for new organisations to be a part of the circuit through VCT Ascension 2025.
The best teams from Challengers — and some that were relegated from the VCT — will compete in their respective regions for a chance to face the in 2026.
A total of four Ascension tournaments will take place across Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China and here are the teams each event will feature.
Americas
Envy will be entering the tournament as a top contender, and even though the team finished second in Challengers 2025 North America: Stage 3, it has been in incredible form so far this year.
TSM, on the other hand, didn’t have much success; however, the players showed up to their potential to win Stage 3. Fans should also keep an eye on Team Solid, featuring players like dgzin and havoc, with the talent to destroy other teams.
One team from the event will move to the International League. G2 Esports has cemented its place in VCT for another year by advancing to Champions Paris. Meanwhile, 2GAME Esports has been relegated back to Challengers for not finishing in top eight of the Championship Points leaderboard.
Here is the list of all teams qualified for VCT Ascension Americas:
- TSM
- ENVY
- 9z Team
- ShindeN
- Stellae Gaming
- Team Solid
- To be decided via Ascension Play-Ins
- To be decided via Ascension Play-Ins
EMEA
Twisted Minds will be looking to regain its momentum on the VCT Ascension 2025 stage following an early elimination in Challengers Stage 3.
BBL PCIFIC will be a team to look out for since it is in an affiliate partnership with BBL Esports and is one of the best-performing tier 2 teams in the region, winning four tournaments in 2025 already.
Unlike Americas, VCT EMEA will welcome two new teams as both Gentle Mates and Apeks were relegated back to Challengers.
Here are all the teams participating in VCT Ascension EMEA:
- ULF Esports
- BBL PCIFIC
- Twisted Minds
- Enterprise Esports
- Mandatory
- Team RA’AD
- DNSTY
- FOKUS
Pacific
Since both Nongshim RedForce and BOOM Esports have been relegated to Ascension for securing a top eight finish in VCT Pacific Stage 2, the upcoming Ascension event will feature 10 teams in total.
The region is arguably the toughest one as it also features aggressive teams such as FULL Sense, NAOS Esports, and RIDDLE.
Here are the teams set to compete at VCT Ascension Pacific:
- Nongshim RedForce
- BOOM Esports
- Motiv Esports
- FULL SENSE
- NAOS Esports
- Team NKT
- SLT
- RIDDLE
- Velocity Gaming
- E-KING
China
Between Dragon Ranger Gaming and XLG Esports, the lower finishing team at Champions 2025 will return to Ascension, making it even harder for the rest of the teams to grab that promotional slot.
Rare Atom is another team that has performed consistently well in the tier 2 circuit and has a great opportunity to represent China on the global stage.
Check out the list of teams battling for a 2026 VCT spot at VCT Ascension China below:
- Dragon Ranger Gaming/XLG Esports
- Rare Atom
- Chosen Clique Gaming
- Zhu Chao Gaming
- Octagonal Disposition
- Ambitious Legend Gaming
- Any Questions Gaming
- Thunder Gaming
The post Challengers rising: Every VCT Ascension 2025 team appeared first on Esports Insider.
