Riot Games is introducing a new financial support system for non-partnered teams in the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), offering fixed cash payments for qualifying at major tournaments. Starting in 2027, independent organisations can earn up to $1.1 million in milestone payments throughout the season, alongside tournament prize money.
In other words, teams that are not official Riot partners for the 2027-28 VCT season will now receive fixed cash payments for reaching certain tournaments. Riot says the goal is to make the open path realistic for smaller, grassroots organisations. These payments are separate from, and come on top of, regular tournament prize money, which totals over $6 million worldwide.
The payments are tied to how far a team gets:
- $100,000 for qualifying for Kickoff, Cup 1, or Cup 2
- $200,000 for qualifying for a Masters event (2 VCT Masters tournaments held in a typical year)
- $400,000 for qualifying for Champions
A team that makes every one of those stages in a single season can collect up to $1.1 million in payments. In addition, a non-partner organisation whose roster reaches the Game Changers Championship will get a further $100,000.
Partner teams, on the other hand, do not receive milestone payments. Instead, they receive an annual base payment from Riot, the amount of which has not been made public. This payment is provided in exchange for maintaining their league slot, sustaining their operations, and helping grow the league. Riot has also reduced the number of partner teams in each region from ten to eight.
From 2023 to 2026, the money largely went to partnered teams. Non-partner teams in the second-tier Challengers circuit received almost no financial support from Riot. They paid for players, coaches, and day-to-day costs themselves, and their only income was prize money, which was typically small at that level.
There were two small exceptions shortly before the 2027 change. In 2026, Riot introduced a one-time $75,000 travel allowance, but only for Challengers teams that qualified for the Stage 2 Playoffs of the top-tier International League. It was meant to help cover travel, visas, and accommodation. Apart from that, independent teams earned money only through prizes.
Under the old setup, an independent team that did not win a tournament or finish near the top could end up losing money. The new milestone payments mean these teams are paid simply for qualifying, which Riot says should keep them from going broke while trying to compete at the biggest events.
