The 2024 VCT season will continue with Masters Shanghai on May 23. The second international event of the year will feature 12 teams and a $1,000,000 USD prize pool, as well as three championship points for the winner of the event.

Of the twelve teams in attendance, Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #13 nizhaoTZH Tang Zehao (唐哲昊) vo0kashu Ilya Ushakov Shion7 Zhang Haozhe (张昊泽) Cangshu Zheng Yujun (手郑宇峻) Nicc Shao Yi-qun (邵逸群) TvirusLuke Chen Cheng-ching SpiritZ1 Lin Dingyu (林定宇) is the only squad making their international debut. Additionally, 11 of the teams have never won an international event previously, which means either a new team gets their opportunity to lift a trophy, or FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #2 Sayonara Ștefan Mîtcu stand-in Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder become the first team in history to do so three times.

Format

Like Masters Madrid, the opening portion of the event will be an eight team Swiss-style format. Teams that get two wins in the system advance to playoffs, while teams that lose twice are eliminated from the tournament. All matches are best-of-three.

The Swiss stage opening matches were randomly drawn, with second seeds playing against a third seed from a different region.

Image showing the Swiss bracket Two teams from each region will battle it out in the Swiss stage. Image: Riot Games

The winner of each region is seeded directly into playoffs. The knockout stage will be an eight team, double elimination bracket. Matches are best-of-three until the lower bracket final and the grand final, which are best-of-five.

Image showing the Swiss stage schedule Schedule for the Swiss stage. Times are in Pacific Daylight Time.

Image showing the playoffs schedule Schedule for the playoffs. Times are in China Standard Time.

Broadcast

Masters Shanghai will be broadcast on official channels and watch party streams, with full details available below.

New Map and Additional Content

Viewers can earn the “Jiāyóu” title by tuning in to a live match between May 23 and June 8. The “Sheng Jian Bao” buddy is available to viewers who watch the grand final live.

Before the grand final, Riot will unveil the new map, hosting a showmatch between players and content creators as a preview.

Coverage

VLR.gg will continue VCT 2024 coverage in our event hub. Pick'ems for the Swiss stage and opening match are open until the beginning of the first match. Stats and a live match ticker will be available throughout the tournament.