Riot has released information regarding the format and schedule of the VCT Pacific League. This year's schedule will vary from last as the league is divided up into three portions.

Kickoff

Pacific's league will commence on February 17 through the Pacific Kickoff. The event is divided into three phases, the first consisting of a three-group GSL format. The winners of each group will directly advance to the playoffs of Phase 3, while each second-place team must compete in a round robin format in Phase 2, where only one of the three teams can continue to the next phase. Each match up to the grand final will be Bo3, whereas the final two teams will play a Bo5.

phase 1 groups image Three teams will bypass Phase 2 entirely and advance to the playoffs. (Image: Riot Games)

Pacific Kickoff's Phase 1 groups are as follows:

Group A:

Group B:

Group C:

The conclusion of Kickoff will see the top two teams of Phase 3 advance to Masters: Madrid as the Pacific region's representatives. Spain's international LAN will commence on March 14.

Stage 1

Shortly after the grand finals of Madrid on March 24, Stage 1 of the Pacific League will begin on April 4. The 11 teams will be split into two groups: Alpha and Omega. Five teams will be shuffled into the former, while the remaining six will slot into the latter. Throughout Stage 1, Alpha teams will fight against Omega teams in a single Bo3 round robin.

The top three teams from each group will advance to a double-elimination bracket with the top team of each group receiving a BYE. The first two matches of playoffs will be elimination matches, meaning that the first two teams to lose will be unable to advance further in the bracket.

stage 1 image Of the six teams at playoffs, only three will qualify for Masters. (Image: Riot Games)

The top three teams of playoffs will punch their tickets to Masters: Shanghai, set to begin around the middle of May and end in June.

Stage 2

Upon their return from China, the three teams will once again join the other eight in the Alpha and Omega groups. This time, however, there will be no matches outside of their respective groups; teams in the Alpha group will not play their Bo3 matches against those in the Omega group, and vice versa.

The top six teams over the course of Stage 1 and 2 will qualify for the Pacific playoffs, where the top three teams qualify to Champions alongside a fourth additional representative determined by the highest Championship Points.

stage 2 image One additional team will join the other three at Champions. (Image: Riot Games)

Championship Points

Championship Points are a newly-introduced feature and will be utilized to decide which teams will qualify for Champions at the end of the year. Different amounts of points are awarded depending on the event and placement.

2024 Championship Points Distribution:

  • Kickoff: Final Win (+3)
  • Masters 1: Final Win (+3)
  • Stage 1: Match Win (+1), Final Win (+3)
  • Masters 2: Final Win (+3)
  • Stage 2: Match Win (+1)

The goal of Championship Points is to reward teams who have been the most consistent throughout the year. While winning events such as Masters and Kickoff reward many points, teams should look to pick up as many match wins as possible throughout Stages 1 and 2 in order to ensure better odds of qualifying for Champions.

championship points image Teams must remain in top form throughout their time within the League. (Image: Riot Games)

Schedule

The schedule for Kickoff's groups has been released by Riot and is as follows:

Saturday, February 17 (Groups)

Sunday, February 18

Monday, February 19

  • 1:00 AM EST | 8:00 AM CEST | 3:00 PM KST - Paper Rex vs. TBD
  • 3:00 AM EST | 10:00 AM CEST | 5:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD
  • 5:00 AM EST | 12:00 PM CEST | 7:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD

Tuesday, February 20

  • 3:00 AM EST | 10:00 AM CEST | 5:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD
  • 5:00 AM EST | 12:00 PM CEST | 7:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD

Wednesday, February 21

  • 1:00 AM EST | 8:00 AM CEST | 3:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD
  • 3:00 AM EST | 10:00 AM CEST | 5:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD
  • 5:00 AM EST | 12:00 PM CEST | 7:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD

Saturday, February 24 (Semifinals)

  • 3:00 AM EST | 10:00 AM CEST | 5:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD
  • 5:00 AM EST | 12:00 PM CEST | 7:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD

Sunday, February 25 (Grand Final)

  • 3:00 AM EST | 10:00 AM CEST | 5:00 PM KST - TBD vs. TBD

Coverage

VLR.gg will be covering all of the VCT Leagues in our event hub. Additional information (streams, pick'ems, etc.) will be updated upon release.