Publisher Riot Games has announced that the upcoming LATAM Kickoff Qualifiers will mark the final VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) tournament operated by Mexican tournament organiser Liga ACE.
The decision marks a complete severance of the publisher’s partnership with Liga ACE as Riot transitions to a restructured operating model for the LATAM and North American Open circuits ahead of the 2027 competitive season.
Under the new operational roadmap, Riot Games will assume direct responsibility for producing the LATAM Finals, Kickoff, and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) events. The upcoming regional events will be hosted directly at Riot’s dedicated esports studio in São Paulo, Brazil. However, the publisher has not confirmed whether it intends to contract a replacement third-party tournament organiser for the region or maintain full in-house operational control over the LATAM and NA Open qualification pathways moving into 2027.
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Founded in 2020, Liga ACE began organising VALORANT competitions in 2022 through the ACE Champions Series before becoming the operator of Challengers leagues in Latin America North and South in 2023. The organisation later took over North American Challengers in 2025, expanding its responsibilities within Riot Games’ competitive ecosystem. Its record has since attracted criticism over event administration.
The most prominent recent example came during the VALORANT Challengers 2026 Americas LCQ, when technical failures turned the grand final between Shopify Rebellion Black and 2Game into a two-day contest. Network instability, prolonged interruptions and broadcast outages disrupted play, while a subsequent rollback of a round added to concerns over competitive administration. The scale of the disruption drew criticism from people within the VALORANT scene and renewed scrutiny of Liga ACE’s handling of tournament operations.
The public backlash escalated following investigative reporting published by news outlet Lion Esports, which detailed an ex-employee exposé alleging severe internal mismanagement, compromised refereeing protocols, and poor working conditions within Liga ACE.
In a notable turn of events, Lion Esports had published a report indicating that Liga ACE was set to retain its operational contract with Riot Games for the 2027 circuit. However, Riot released its public statement dismissing the organiser just hours later, effectively ending Liga ACE’s four-year involvement in the official VCT ecosystem.
