Valorant Pick’Ems: The Complete Guide

🏆 Relive the event: the Champions Bracket Predictor now has all 34 real results – right up to LOUD’s title.

What are Pick’Ems – and where do I play them?

Pick’Ems are the official prediction game of the VALORANT Champions Tour. Instead of aiming yourself, you predict: which teams survive the group stage? Who marches through the playoffs? Correct predictions earn points and unlock cosmetic rewards – completely free.

Pick’Ems for Champions Shanghai opened on September 10, 2026 (confirmed in the Patch 13.05 notes). Group stage picks have been locked since the tournament started on September 24; playoff Pick’Ems were open from the draw on October 4 until October 7 and have been locked since about ten minutes after the first playoff match (around 2:10 am PT). The season’s grand final runs from September 24 to October 18 in Shanghai – 16 teams from the four regions Americas, EMEA, Pacific and China fight for the title. Everything about the tournament and the Champions skin collection is on our Champions 2026 page.

You can lock in your picks in two places – both use the same account:

1. In game: Launch Valorant → open the esports tab at the top → select Pick’Ems and place your teams. Done in two minutes.
2. On the web: Log in with your Riot account on the official VALORANT Esports site and predict there – handy on the go, or if you prefer sorting brackets on a big screen.
3. Check before the tournament starts: You can usually still change your picks until the first match – after that they are locked.

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How the scoring system works

The principle is simple, but the details decide the leaderboard:

For context: at the 2025 Champions event, the maximum possible score was 440 – the best player reached 379. Good to know: a perfect bracket (“100%”) has never been achieved at Champions or Masters; only at the smaller Game Changers Championship 2025 did 67 players manage it. So you don’t have to be perfect, just better than the crowd.

The rewards you can grab

• Participation reward: Submit a complete bracket and you get the “Calculated” title.
• Top 50%: Predict better than half of the community to unlock the “Stone of Heaven” buddy.
• Top-20% bonus: Predict better than 80% of all players to earn the “Pick’Ems Master: Stone of Heaven” variant.
• The 100% title: A completely flawless bracket earns the “100%” title – unclaimed at Champions and Masters so far. Maybe you’ll be the first.

Picking strategy: how to outscore your friends

Anyone can blindly pick favorites. If you want to win the leaderboard, pick systematically – here are our Champions tips:

• Current form beats reputation: Look at the most recent international events and regional playoffs, not a team’s fame from two years ago. A team that just qualified in dominant fashion is hotter than a tired title defender.
• Weigh the regions realistically: Four regions, sixteen teams – but strength is never spread evenly. Check how the regions performed against each other at the latest Masters events.
• Group order = bonus points: Most people only predict WHO advances. The extra points for exact placement are the easiest way to pull ahead of the average.
• One brave underdog is enough: When everyone submits the same bracket, the one uncomfortable pick decides. A well-reasoned outsider with a feasible bracket path pushes you forward – five wild picks ruin you.
• Wait until the deadline: Right before the tournament you get the freshest info on roster changes and form. Submit early, but check the group stage results once more before the playoff lock – at Champions 2026 that was October 7.

Our Pick’Ems prediction for Champions Shanghai 2026

Update Oct 18 – our verdict: Champions Shanghai is decided: LOUD beat Team Vitality 3–1 in the grand final (Summit 13–11, Lotus 8–13, Sunset 13–5, Haven 13–10) and are world champions. Our final pick of Paper Rex vs 100 Thieves did not come true: Paper Rex went out in lower round 1 (7th–8th), while 100 Thieves made it through the lower bracket to the lower final and finished third after a 1–3 against Vitality. Our group B pick Team Vitality, on the other hand, reached the grand final. Four of the eight playoff teams were among our group picks; we did not have the champions LOUD on our sheet. Before that: LOUD beat Team Vitality 2–1 in the upper final on Oct 16, 100 Thieves beat G2 Esports 2–1 in lower round 3, and Vitality beat 100 Thieves 3–1 in the lower final on Oct 17.

Update Oct 11: Lower round 2 is done: our finalist 100 Thieves beat defending champions NRG 2–0 (Sunset 14–12 in overtime, Haven 13–4) and stay alive, while G2 Esports knocked out T1 2–1 (Lotus 13–11, Abyss 10–13, Ascent 13–6). On Friday, Oct 16, 100 Thieves face G2 Esports in lower round 3 at 2 am PT (11:00 CEST) – after the upper final Team Vitality vs LOUD, featuring our group B pick Vitality.

Update Oct 10: The upper semifinals are done: LOUD beat defending champions NRG 2–1 (Haven 13–9, Sunset 10–13, Summit 13–3), Team Vitality beat G2 Esports 2–0 (Abyss 13–11, Split 13–4). Our group B pick Team Vitality now faces LOUD in the upper final (Oct 15, 11 pm PT / Oct 16, 08:00 CEST) and is guaranteed at least third place. Our finalist 100 Thieves plays NRG in lower round 2 on Sunday, Oct 11, at 2 am PT (11:00 CEST); T1 faces G2 Esports at 5 am PT (14:00 CEST).

Update Oct 9: Our final pick Paper Rex is out: T1 won lower round 1 2–1 (Lotus 13–7, Ascent 6–13, Summit 13–11). Our other finalist 100 Thieves is still alive – 2–1 over Nongshim RedForce, with the decider Ascent ending 13–1. 100T and T1 play the upper semifinal losers in lower round 2 on Sunday, Oct 11 (NRG vs LOUD and G2 vs Vitality on Oct 10).

Update Oct 8, evening: The second playoff day hit our other finalist too: 100 Thieves lost their upper quarterfinal 0–2 to G2 Esports (Abyss 5–13, Ascent 11–13) and face Nongshim RedForce in lower round 1 on Oct 9 at 5 am PT (14:00 CEST), after NS lost 1–2 to Team Vitality. That puts both finalists from our pick in the lower bracket – Paper Rex (vs T1, 2 am PT) and 100 Thieves now have to take the long road. The upper semifinals on Oct 10 are NRG vs LOUD and G2 Esports vs Team Vitality.

Update Oct 8, midday: The first playoff day went against our final pick: Paper Rex lost their upper quarterfinal 0–2 to LOUD (Split 9–13, Sunset 13–15 in overtime) and face T1 in lower round 1 on Oct 9 at 2 am PT (11:00 CEST); T1 lost 0–2 to NRG (Lotus 11–13, Summit 7–13). Paper Rex can still win the title, but only through the lower bracket. NRG and LOUD meet in the upper semifinal on Oct 10.

Update Oct 4: The group stage is done. Our second pick in Group A is out: T1 beat FUT Esports 2–0 in the decider (Sunset 13–10, Ascent 13–10). In Group B, LOUD won the decider against Global Esports 2–0 (Split 13–8, Sunset 13–9). That means four of the eight playoff teams were in our group picks (Paper Rex, Team Vitality, 100 Thieves, Nongshim RedForce), and NRG was our alternative pick. The official upper quarterfinals: NRG vs T1 and Paper Rex vs LOUD on Oct 7, 100 Thieves vs G2 Esports and Team Vitality vs Nongshim RedForce on Oct 8. Playoff Pick’Ems are open and lock on Oct 7 around 2:10 am PT (09:10 UTC).

Update Oct 3: Mixed days for our second picks: in Group B, EDward Gaming were knocked out 0–2 by Global Esports on Oct 2, and in Group C Team Liquid lost the decider 0–2 to G2 Esports (Split 10–13, Abyss 7–13). In Group D, on the other hand, our second pick Nongshim RedForce beat our favorite Karmine Corp 2–1 in the decider (Sunset 9–13, Summit 13–5, Haven 13–6) – NS are in the playoffs, KC are out. In Group A our second pick is still alive: FUT Esports play T1 in the decider on Oct 4 at 5 am PT (14:00 CEST) after T1 knocked out JD Gaming 2–1. Before that, LOUD and Global Esports fight for the last Group B spot at 2 am PT (11:00 CEST). Four of the six confirmed playoff teams were in our picks (Paper Rex, Team Vitality, 100 Thieves, Nongshim RedForce), and NRG was our alternative pick.

Update Oct 1: Both elimination matches went our way: our second pick in Group C, Team Liquid, beat TYLOO 2–1 (Split 13–8, Summit 7–13, Lotus 13–2) and face G2 Esports in the decider on Oct 3 at 2 am PT (11:00 CEST). In Group D our second pick Nongshim RedForce beat Xi Lai Gaming 2–0 (Summit 13–11, Sunset 13–11). In the decider at 5 am PT (14:00 CEST) they meet none other than our favorite Karmine Corp – so only one of our two Group D picks can advance. TYLOO and Xi Lai Gaming are eliminated.

Update Sep 30: Groups B and A are going to plan for our picks: Team Vitality beat LOUD 2–0 (Summit only in overtime, 19–17), and 100 Thieves beat FUT Esports 2–0. Both are through to the playoffs as group winners. Our second pick in Group A, FUT Esports, gets another shot in the decider on Oct 4. In Group B our second pick EDward Gaming first has to win the elimination match against Global Esports on Oct 2 and then beat LOUD in the decider on Oct 4. That makes four of the eight playoff teams: Paper Rex, NRG, Team Vitality and 100 Thieves.

Update Sep 29: Group C is going our way: Paper Rex beat G2 Esports 2–1 in the winners’ match and are through to the playoffs as group winners. In Group D our alternative pick is ahead instead – defending champion NRG beat our favorite Karmine Corp 2–1. KC can still grab the second ticket in the decider on Oct 3. Playoff Pick’Ems open after the draw on October 4.

Update Sep 27: Group A is going exactly to plan for our picks: 100 Thieves beat T1 2–0 and FUT Esports swept JD Gaming 2–0. The two meet in the winners’ match on Sep 30 at 5 am PT (14:00 CEST) for the first playoff spot, while T1 and JD Gaming face off in the elimination match on Oct 2. That completes all eight opening matches – Vitality vs LOUD already starts at 2 am PT (11:00 CEST) on Sep 30.

Update Sep 26: Group B is now half played too: our pick Team Vitality beat Global Esports 2–1, while our second pick EDward Gaming lost 0–2 to LOUD and has to play the elimination match against Global Esports on Oct 2. Vitality and LOUD play for Group B’s first playoff spot on Sep 30.

Update Sep 25: Group D is a mixed bag for our picks: Karmine Corp beat Xi Lai Gaming 2–0 and meets NRG in the winners’ match on Sep 29 – our alternative pick NRG beat Nongshim RedForce 2–0. That sends Nongshim into the elimination match against Xi Lai Gaming on Oct 1. Play out your own scenario in the bracket predictor.

Update Sep 24: day 1 went to plan for our Group C pick Paper Rex (2–1 against Team Liquid); G2 Esports beat TYLOO 2–0, so Liquid now has to go through the elimination match. Every result is in our Champions live hub.

As of Sep 22, 2026, before the first match. 16 teams, four groups – here is how we rate the field (sources: VLR.gg results of the 2026 season, Masters Santiago and Masters London). This is an opinion, not a guarantee. How it held up is shown in the dated updates above: four of the eight playoff teams were among our group picks (Paper Rex, Team Vitality, 100 Thieves, Nongshim RedForce), and NRG was our alternative pick.

Pick’Ems for the Game Changers Championship 2026

After Champions comes the next Pick’Ems event: the Game Changers Championship 2026 from October 22 to November 1 at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo. Ten teams play a double-elimination format (best-of-three, with the lower final and grand final as best-of-five). Pick’Ems opened on October 15 at 11:00 pm PT and have been locked since October 22 at about 11:10 am PT (6:10 pm UTC) – ten minutes after the first match. Teams, schedule and prize pool are on our esports page.

For the drops, link your Riot account to Twitch or Kick before you watch. Matches start daily at 3:00 pm Brasília time (6:00 pm UTC); the grand final on Sunday, November 1, starts at 1:00 pm EST (7:00 pm CET). Source: Riot Games on valorantesports.com, “Game Changers Championship 2026: Everything You Need to Know”.

The key dates at a glance

By the way: if you want to understand all tournament formats, our esports page has the complete overview of VCT, Masters and Champions – and the glossary explains every term from “bracket” to “lower round”.

Pick’Ems: history, records and why “100%” is almost impossible

Pick’Ems have been part of the big VALORANT tournaments since the first Champions and Masters events. Every tournament, hundreds of thousands of fans predict along worldwide – which is exactly what makes the leaderboards so competitive. A flawless bracket across the group stage and every playoff round has never been achieved at Champions or Masters: a single upset in the playoffs breaks the perfect run – and underdog stories are a tradition at Valorant events.

So realistically, Pick’Ems aren’t about a perfect 100% score – they’re about predicting better than the community average. You typically unlock the coveted “Master” buddy variants by finishing in the upper ranks, not by guessing every single match.

The 5 most common picking mistakes – and how to avoid them

1. Picking by name only: Big names from last season are no guarantee. Look at current form and recent results, not just reputation.
2. Ignoring the group draw: A strong team in a “group of death” can exit earlier than a mid team in an easy group. Always judge the matchup, not just raw strength.
3. Regional bias: Not every region is equally strong every year. Blindly backing your favorite region leaves points on the table.
4. Submitting late: Picks must be locked in before the first match of each phase. Miss the deadline and your prediction doesn’t count.
5. Never checking back after locking: Between the group stage and playoffs you can often re-pick. If you don’t return after groups, you easily leave earned playoff points behind.

If you also want to know which agents dominate the meta at this event, our agent tier list and pick rates help you size up the teams.

Your first time with Pick’Ems: step by step

If you're playing Pick’Ems for the first time, the bracket view can quickly look confusing. Take it easy: open the official VCT Pick’Ems portal, log in with your Riot account and select the active event. You'll then see a set of questions per phase – who advances from the group, who wins a specific match, which team ends up on top. Important: your picks can be changed up until the start of each phase, after which they're frozen. So put the deadline in your calendar so you don't forget to lock in before kickoff.

For the start: don't overthink your picks to death. A solid first approach is to trust the seeded favorite in clear matches and only deliberate on the open 50:50 duels. You collect points with every correct prediction, and even an "average" pick sheet makes watching instantly more exciting, because suddenly every match is your match too. That's the real appeal: Pick’Ems turn passive watching into rooting with stakes. The exact points mechanics and the rewards are explained higher up on this page.

Read matchups like an analyst

Whoever wants to score more than chance looks beyond the mere team name. Three factors give you a real edge. First, current form: a team that has convincingly won its recent series is in better shape than a famous giant currently slumping – reputation alone wins no maps. Second, the map pool: almost every team has strong and avoidable maps. If you know which maps are likely to fall in the veto and which get played, you can judge duels far more precisely. Third, the head-to-head record: some teams simply don't match up stylistically against a certain opponent.

Combine these three lenses instead of relying on one. A team with poor daily form but a strong map pool against a bogey opponent is a classic trap match – that's exactly where the informed pick separates from the gut feeling. Use the weeks before a big event to deliberately watch a few series: pay attention not only to the result but to how a team wins – through aim duels, utility discipline or clever map control. That understanding pays off in almost every Pick’Ems question.

Picking groups, Swiss and playoffs correctly

Not every tournament phase follows the same logic – and ignoring that gives away points. In the group or Swiss phase, many teams play several series, and upsets are more common because even strong teams have an off day without being immediately eliminated. Here it pays not to stubbornly pick only favorites but to take the occasional calculated risk when form and map pool support it. In the playoffs, by contrast, in the knockout system, consistency and mental strength count more – here the composed teams prevail more often, and the safe favorite pick is often the smarter one.

A common mistake is picking too cautiously in the group phase and too boldly in the playoffs – usually it should be exactly the other way around. Also consider how the points system is weighted: if later rounds bring more points, it's worth directing your attention there and answering the early questions more pragmatically. Treat your pick sheet like a small portfolio: safe base picks plus a few deliberately chosen high-return bets.

Why the meta and map vetoes influence your picks

Valorant esports is heavily shaped by the current agent and map meta, and this changes with every major patch. A team whose strength rests on compositions that just got nerfed can lose punch overnight – while another benefits from exactly those changes. So before an event, keep an eye on the latest patch notes: they often reveal which teams currently have a tailwind. The tournament's map pool is decisive too, because teams prepare specifically for the playable maps.

The map veto before each series is a tactical chess game in itself. Teams ban the opponent's strongest maps and secure their own comfort picks. Whoever understands which maps a team loves and which it fears can often estimate before the first shot who has the advantage. You don't have to pluck this knowledge from thin air: team stats on map win rates are public, and a quick look at them turns a guess into a well-founded assessment.

Pick’Ems with friends: leagues, tables and bets

Pick’Ems are most fun in a group. Even though the official portal doesn't offer private leagues, a friends' standings is quickly built: everyone makes their official picks, you share screenshots of your bracket choices before the deadline, and a simple table in a shared note or spreadsheet keeps the score. Whoever leads at the end of the event wins – whether for honor or a small, friendly stake.

The appeal of such a mini-league lies in the shared rooting: suddenly you debate form curves and map pools before every match, groan together over the one upset everyone got wrong and celebrate the bold underdog pick that lands. Combine that with a shared watch-along of the games and a tournament weekend becomes a real community event. If you want to dive deeper into the scene, our esports page has the overview of leagues, teams and formats.

Gut feeling versus data: the psychology of picking

Finally, an honest look at the mind behind the picks. People tend toward two typical thinking errors when predicting. The first is favorite bias: we overrate big names because we have their highlights in mind, and underrate rising teams. The second is recency bias: the last match we watched weighs far more heavily in our feeling than it should – a single slip then colors the whole assessment. Whoever knows these traps can deliberately counteract them.

The healthiest approach is a mix: use data (form, map win rates, head-to-head) as a foundation, but leave room for your informed gut feeling – especially in the close duels where the statistics know no clear winner. And accept that a perfect pick sheet is practically impossible: exactly this unpredictability makes esports exciting. Pick with head and heart, enjoy the rooting, and see every wrong prediction as what it is – proof that Valorant esports never gets boring.

Understanding the VCT calendar: Kickoff, Masters, Champions

Whoever wants to play Pick’Ems seriously should know the rhythm of the competitive season. The year in the Valorant Champions Tour is structured into fixed building blocks: it begins regionally with the Kickoff tournaments, in which the teams of each region set the tone for the year. These are followed by the international Masters events, where the best teams of all regions meet for the first time – here it shows which region currently plays the strongest meta. The crowning conclusion is Champions, the world championship tournament that teams qualify for over the season.

For your picks this calendar matters because the significance of the data changes over the year. At Kickoff, form is still fresh and hard to gauge, upsets are common. By Champions, by contrast, the balance of power has cleared up and the statistics are more reliable. Adjust your appetite for risk accordingly: early in the year you may bet more boldly on underdogs, late you should trust the established top teams more. The full overview of leagues and formats is on our esports page and in the Champions live hub.

Regional strength: why a team's origin matters

Valorant esports is divided into large regional leagues, and these regions have developed different play styles and phases of strength over the years. Sometimes one region dominates with aggressive, duel-heavy play, sometimes another sets the standard with disciplined utility and clever map control. For international events that means: a team's origin is a real clue to its style – and to how it might fare against a certain opponent style. A team from a currently strong region often has more substance than its fame suggests.

So don't underrate the "smaller" regions: time and again teams surprise at international tournaments because the home press and fans underestimate their strength outside their own region. Exactly in such cross-region duels lie the most valuable points for attentive pickers. Whoever watches a few games from different regions before a Masters or Champions event develops a feel for which region currently has a tailwind – and picks the international duels far more accurately than someone who only looks at team names.

Who plays for which team and which region it comes from is shown in the roster overview of every Champions team.

Common myths about Pick’Ems

A few stubborn misconceptions surround Pick’Ems. Myth one: "You have to be an esports expert." Wrong – a basic understanding of form and map pool is enough to pick solidly, and the rest is unpredictability anyway that hits everyone equally. Myth two: "Always picking only favorites is safest." That too is only partly true, because especially in group and Swiss phases calculated underdog picks often bring the decisive points advantage. Whoever picks only favorites lands mid-table – not at the top.

Myth three: "Pick’Ems cost money or influence my game." No – the official Pick’Ems are free, and your picks have zero influence on your own account or rank. And myth four: "A perfect pick sheet is achievable with enough research." In practice a flawless sheet over a whole event is extremely rare, because esports thrives on surprises. That's no reason for frustration but the actual appeal: exactly this unpredictability is what makes the rooting exciting in the first place. Pick informed but without the demand for perfection – then you're doing it right.

Your picking checklist before every phase

So you go about each deadline in a structured way, a small routine helps. First: check form – who has won the recent series, who is slumping? Second: look at the map pool and vetoes – which maps suit the teams involved, which are likely to be banned? Third: consider the meta and patch – were there recent changes that strengthen or weaken a play style? Fourth: check the head-to-head – are there bogey-opponent patterns? Whoever goes through these four points in five minutes picks more soundly right away than from the gut.

Then weight your picks by the points system: place your safe predictions on the clear favorites and save the calculated risk for the open duels where an underdog hit brings real points. Finally, note your reasoning in one sentence – that sounds petty but makes you a better picker over the season, because in hindsight you see which of your considerations panned out and which didn't.

📅 Next event: Champions 2026 is over – the first big tournament of 2027 is Masters Seoul (February 20 to March 3, 2027). Riot has not announced yet whether there will be Pick’Ems for it. Every date is in the VCT 2027 schedule.

After the event: learning from your picks

The biggest learning effect comes after the tournament. Look at which picks were off and ask yourself honestly: was it real unpredictability – a team simply had a dream day – or an avoidable thinking error, such as favorite bias or ignored form curves? Across several events you thus recognize your personal patterns and become noticeably more accurate. The best pickers aren't the luckiest but the ones who take a little away from every event.

And through it all, keep perspective: Pick’Ems are a game within the game meant to enrich your watching – not an exam subject. Celebrate the bold hits, laugh at the collective misses and use the discussion with friends as the best part of the whole format. Approach it that way and over the seasons you'll become not just a better picker but enjoy Valorant esports more intensely than ever.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)