The first huge international LAN event of the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2026 season is about to kick off in Chile, and while we can't fly there to attend, we'll watch on the edge of our seats like most fans across the globe. Here's what you need to know about VCT Masters Santiago so you don't miss a second of the action.

The highly-anticipated VCT Masters Santiago event is taking place at the Espacio Riesco venue in Santiago, Chile. You can mark your calendars for 28 February when the tournament gets underway. VCT Masters Santiago runs from the middle of March. To be precise, the tournament is scheduled to end on 15 March 2026.

A total of 12 teams are competing for their share of the $1 million prize pool. At the current Dollar to Rand exchange rate, that's roughly R16 million.

The top three teams from each region are in attendance, based on performance at the VCT 2026 Americas Kickoff, VCT 2026 EMEA Kickoff, VCT 2026 Pacific Kickoff, and VCT 2026 China Kickoff.

Check out the full list of teams competing at VCT 2026 Masters Santiago outlined below, including how they placed in their respective regional kickoff events, and which region they hail from.

The 2nd and 3rd seeds from each region start in the Swiss Stage, running from 28 February to 4 March 2026. From the eight teams, only four will survive to join the 1st seed teams in the Playoffs Stage.

In the Playoffs Stage, the final eight teams will fight in a double-elimination bracket format. All matches are BO3, except for the Grand Final and Lower Bracket Final, which are both best-of-five.

You can watch all the action via the VALORANT Twitch or VCT YouTube channels.

Header image via Riot Games.