The inaugural global event of the VCT 2024 season is set to take place in Spain’s capital city.

VCT Masters Madrid 2024 marks the first time Valorant takes center stage in Spain, as well as heralding the VCT’s return to the EMEA region.

While an official date has not been revealed, Riot Games announced on August 23 in their full VCT 2024 schedule that Masters Madrid is slated for the first quarter of next year.

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The international Valorant stage returns to the EMEA region with VCT Masters Madrid 2024

The full VCT 2024 schedule shared by Riot Games on August 23
Credit: Riot Games

The VCT 2024 season begins with a kick-off event where all international leagues will compete to qualify for Masters Madrid. Riot Games will also be welcoming China to the VCT international league, joining the Pacific, Americas, and EMEA regions.

The VCT next year will also have a new format, with Masters Madrid having eight teams in the competition. Only the top two teams from each region will qualify for the first global tournament of the year.

In every year of the VCT except 2023, there were two Masters events followed by Valorant Champions at the end of each year. When Riot Games introduced the VCT partnership program in 2023, they only had Masters Tokyo as the single international event before Valorant Champions.

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The change for Masters was introduced to add more stakes to the kick-off competition at the start of the year, according to Leo Faria, the Global head of Valorant esports.

Teams that make it into Masters Madrid will earn themselves a chance to collect Valorant Champions Points, the new point system Riot Games is implementing for the VCT 2024 season. The squads with the most Valorant Champions Points at the end of the season will qualify for the Valorant World Championship at the end of the year. 

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