As the dust settles over the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) regional Kickoff events, the first big international LAN tournament of the year is in our crosshairs. VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026 promises spectacular action as the best in the business compete for the coveted trophy and their share of a huge prize pool.
Let’s leap in and discuss everything fans must know about the event, including the schedule, format, team lineup, how to watch, and our expert betting predictions.
Disclaimer: All the VALORANT Masters Santiago outright winner odds quoted are accurate as of Feb. 23, 2026, and are subject to change without notice.
VALORANT Masters Santiago Schedule & Format
Running from Feb. 28 to March 16, Masters Santiago takes place live on LAN at the Espacio Riesco venue in Santiago, Chile.
The action begins with a Swiss Stage (Feb. 28 to March 4), where eight teams will fight over four spots in the Playoffs Stage. All matches in the Swiss Stage are best-of-three. Teams need two wins to move onto the Playoffs Stage, while two losses result in elimination.
In the Playoffs Stage (March 6 to 15), the top four teams from the Swiss Stage join the four teams who qualified directly based on their #1 positions at the regional Kickoff events. The top-seeded teams will pick their Upper Bracket Quarterfinal opponents from the Swiss Stage teams.
The Playoffs Stage will use a double-elimination bracket, with most matches best-of-three. Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final are best-of-five.
Prize Pool Distribution
There’s a $1,000,000 prize pool to compete for, and a total of 17 Championship Points, which is pivotal for teams wanting to qualify for Champions Shanghai at the end of the year.
| Place | Prize Money | Championship Points |
| 1st | $350,000 | 6 |
| 2nd | $200,000 | 4 |
| 3rd | $125,000 | 3 |
| 4th | $75,000 | 2 |
| 5th–6th | $50,000 | 1 |
| 7th–8th | $35,000 | 0 |
| 9th–10th | $25,000 | 0 |
| 11th–12th | $15,000 | 0 |
| Total | $1,000,000 | 17 |
How To Watch VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026
Throw yourself into the middle of the heart-pounding action right here at Thunderpick. Simply visit our VALORANT betting section, explore all the markets, upcoming matches, and match schedules in your timezone.
Take it to the next level by navigating to the “Live” tab when Masters Santiago is underway. Select a match, and you’ll see an official live stream as well as our bet slip, allowing you to watch the top-tier action while placing in-play wagers.
You can also watch all the matches directly via the official VALORANT YouTube and Twitch channels.
Teams At VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026
The 12 best squads are competing at Masters Santiago, with the top three VALORANT teams from the four main VCT regions in attendance. Every squad earned podium finishes in their respective regions’ Kickoff events, with the winners earning spots in the Playoffs Stage.
- FURIA (#1 in Americas Kickoff)
- BBL Esports (#1 in EMEA Kickoff)
- All Gamers (#1 in China Kickoff)
- Nongshim RedForce (#1 in Pacific Kickoff)
- G2 Esports (#2 in Americas Kickoff)
- XLG Esports (#2 in China Kickoff)
- Gentle Mates (#2 in EMEA Kickoff)
- T1 (#2 in Pacific Kickoff)
- EDward Gaming (#3 in China Kickoff)
- NRG (#3 in Americas Kickoff)
- Paper Rex (#3 in Pacific Kickoff)
- Team Liquid (#3 in EMEA Kickoff)
Our VALORANT Masters Santiago Predictions
To create our Masters Santiago predictions, we considered offseason roster changes, performances at regional Kickoff events, and official VALORANT Global Power Rankings (GPR). We also employed the latest outright tournament winner odds to further inform our research.
For a crystal-clear picture, odds are presented in Decimal and American formats, along with the implied probabilities, to indicate the chance of a team lifting the coveted trophy.
Important: These predictions reflect the perceived strength of teams based on historical trends and the latest available odds. This analysis should not be interpreted as betting advice. Past performance does not guarantee future outcomes. Always gamble responsibly.
Paper Rex
With the GOAT of VALORANT esports, Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto, at the helm, Paper Rex is one of the fan-favorites to go all the way. During the offseason, Paper Rex saw Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza moved to Global Esports and added Adrian “invy” Reyes as a replacement. They went on to win the Radiant International Invitational 2025, trampling Gen.G 3–1 in the Grand Final, instilling confidence that the roster move worked wonders.
All that being said, consider this squad winning Masters Santiago over NRG as our bold prediction. They’ll start their journey in the Swiss Stage, and the team showed cracks in their armor at VCT 2026 Pacific Kickoff, narrowly qualifying for this event as the #3 seed.
Odds of 4.75 (+375) indicate that Paper Rex is the 2nd-favorite at the start of the tournament, with an implied probability of 21.05% to hoist the trophy, and a 33.33% chance to earn a spot in the Grand Final.
Paper Rex roster:
- Ilia “something” Petrov
- Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee
- Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie
- Adrian “invy” Reyes
- Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto (IGL)
- Alexandre “alecks” Sallé (Coach)
NRG
After their historic win at VALORANT Champions Paris 2025, Sam “s0m” Oh stepped away from competition. NRG added superstar British Controller player Georgio “keiko” Sanassy to fill the gap, and instantly found some success by placing 2nd at Red Bull Home Ground 2025.
At the VCT 2026 Americas Kickoff event, NRG narrowly avoided embarrassment after losing to a reverse-sweep dealt by MIBR in the Upper Bracket, and a clean 2–0 sweep by G2 Esports in the middle bracket. NRG got their revenge in the Lower Bracket Final, dramatically beating MIBR 3–2 from a 0–2 deficit position to secure a #3 Americas seed at Masters Santiago.
Despite the close call at VCT 2026 Americas Kickoff, the odds still favor NRG. Outright odds of 4.00 (+300) indicate that NRG are the bookmakers’ favorite, implying a 25.00% chance to win. Odds of 2.50 (+150) translate to a 40.00% chance that the world champions will earn a spot in the Grand Final.
NRG roster:
- Adam “mada” Pampuch
- Brock “brawk” Somerhalder
- Logan “skuba” Jenkins
- Georgio “keiko” Sanassy
- Ethan “Ethan” Arnold (IGL)
- Malkolm “bonkar” Rench (Coach)
BBL Esports
The new, all-Turkish powerhouse roster of BBL Esports was announced during the offseason, dubbed the “Golden Generation.” While there was clear confidence in the team’s long-term prospects, few would have predicted BBL Esports could top the VCT 2026 EMEA Kickoff event, claiming top scalps along the way.
BBL Esports towered above the rest, first beating PCIFIC Esports 2–1. With momentum on their side, BBL Esports smashed two favorites, sending Fnatic and Team Vitality down to the middle bracket with clean 2–0 wins. In the Upper Bracket Final of VCT 2026 EMEA Kickoff, BBL Esports came out on top with a 3–2 score against Gentle Mates to secure the top EMEA seed in Santiago. As a result, BBL Esports starts their journey in the Playoffs Stage.
The squad is currently ranked #8 on the GPR with a 4–0 record. Odds of 9.00 (+800) indicate there’s an 11.11% chance BBL Esports will win, but our expert thinks they could be a bit undervalued.
BBL Esports roster:
- Ali “Crewen” Sargin
- Yusuf “Lar0k” Kanber
- Utku “Loita” Kart
- Umut “lovers rock” Pekdoğan
- Eren “Rosé” Erzan (IGL)
- Mert “KEY” Çelebi (Coach)
G2 Esports
In the offseason, G2 Esports benched Jonah “JonahP” Pulice and added Sentinel player Andrej “babybay” Francisty. The squad found instant success, winning Red Bull Home Ground 2025 by beating NRG 3–0.
G2 Esports is #1 on the official GPR, slightly ahead of NRG. At the VCT 2026 Americas Kickoff event, they were beaten down in the Upper Bracket by eventual winners FURIA. However, G2 Esports showed their big-match temperament, sweeping NRG 2–0 and MIBR 3–0 to claim the #2 Americas seed.
Odds of 5.50 (+450) indicate that there’s an 18.18% chance for G2 Esports to lift the Masters trophy. There’s a 28.57% chance that Jacob “valyn” Batio could lead his team to a Grand Final appearance, as indicated by odds of 3.50 (+250).
G2 Esports roster:
- Alexander “jawgemo” Mor
- Trent “trent” Cairns
- Nathan “leaf” Orf
- Andrej “babybay” Francisty
- Jacob “valyn” Batio (IGL)
- Josh “JoshRT” Lee (Coach)
Honorable mentions go to FURIA, All Gamers, XLG Esports, and Nongshim RedForce, all solid picks to consider, as they have earned direct spots in the Playoffs Stage.
The First Seed Curse
Despite strong results domestically and securing their 1st seed slot, you’ll notice the majority of our predictions for the Grand Finals don’t include the #1 seed out for the region. At previous internationals, the “privilege” of not playing in that opening swiss bracket hasn’t translated to success. Many a time, the warmup and adjustment to playing to the crowd has been a huge difference maker when these Seed 2s and 3s make it to playoffs vs a #1 seed that is stepping onto the stage for the first time.
This trend could continue with the current spread of #1 seeds, with teams that are inexperienced at internationals taking up those coveted spots, in a meta where shooting has mattered more than ever, will those cold hands have what it takes?
We Are Locked & Loaded For Masters Santiago
We have a lot of questions on our minds as we get ready for what should be an absolutely amazing event in Chile. Will these inexperienced top seeds break the trend of underperformance? Will the reigning world champions, NRG, claim the first big international VALORANT trophy of the year? Or can f0rsakeN lead his team to another Masters win?
Join us in the hype by checking out our always-updated VALORANT betting section. You can even put your esports knowledge to the test by placing wagers on each match with your favorite cryptocurrencies.
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