From his first taste of esports as a member of Bravado Gaming, a top South African organization, to a content creator and Senior Editor at various publications, Wessel "Sillicur" Minnie has built up nearly two decades of experience. While he isn't clicking heads with vigor on local CS2 servers, he's sniffing out interesting news to discuss with readers. Wessel believes that high-quality, well-researched content is what the industry needs, and deserves.
Chadley Kemp (preferably just "Chad") has nearly a decade of editorial experience spanning esports, gaming, crypto, and betting content, covering everything from Counter-Strike and VALORANT to League of Legends and Dota 2. Outside of esports, Chadley holds a Ph.D. in Physiology and has published research in several peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Image credit: Riot Games As the dust settles on the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 2 events, we turn our attention to the crowning event of the year: Champions Shanghai. At the heart of the discussions is one simple question: which teams are the strongest in each region?
Building on an earlier analysis of the strongest VCT regions in 2026 , I’ve identified four teams leading the race before Champs. Before I highlight the most impressive squads, though, here’s how I decided which ones to feature.
Many fans might disagree with my picks and would rather see fan favourites such as Paper Rex or NRG named. Instead, I selected the VCT 2026 Stage 2 winners as the strongest teams in each region.
At the highest level of esports, teams that peak at the right time often put themselves in contention for titles. With that in mind, triumphing at Stage 2 gives each regional champion valuable momentum heading into VALORANT Champions 2026 .
The elephant in the room is “recency bias” – basically, overvaluing recent events while ignoring historical context. However, recent results hold significant weight as indicators of player form and how teams tactically adapt to the current meta.
Last but not least, Riot Games uses Stage 2 performance and Championship Points to seed the draw, which determines Champions groups. You might not agree with the reasoning for picking these teams as the “strongest,” and that’s totally fine.
Watch the full Draw Show for #VALORANTChampions Shanghai! pic.twitter.com/K5MRXLGNsA
Note: Individual player ratings and stats were sourced from VLR.gg and are accurate as of Sep. 7, 2026. I’ve included the overall Rating (2.0), Average Combat Score (ACS), Kill: Death (K:D), Average Damage per Round (ADR), Kills Per Round (KPR), and Kill/Assist/Survive/Trade (KAST) percentage.
There’s no better example of hitting peak form at the perfect time than 100 Thieves.
The North American juggernaut finished 4th in Stage 1 and missed qualification for both Masters events. However, they hit their stride at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026, earning a spot by sweeping LOUD 3–0 in the qualifiers.
In front of a crowd in Paris during the EWC 2026 playoffs, 100 Thieves went on to beat MIBR 2–1, Nongshim RedForce 2–1, and finally NRG 3–1 to lift the trophy. Matthew ‘ Cryocells ’ Panganiban was the spearhead of the attack, earning the MVP award.
Proving that their success at EWC 2026 wasn’t a fluke, 100 Thieves proceeded to top Group Omega in VCT 2026 Stage 2 Americas with a 4–1 record.
In the playoffs, Jordan ‘ vora ’ Pulwer led his team to decisive 2–0 wins over Leviatán and NRG in the upper bracket to secure a grand final spot. In a slugfe…