VCT 2025 Americas Stage 1: Schedule, Format, Groups, and Opening Matches
Top-flight VALORANT is set to return to American soil when teams take to the stage for the start of the VCT 2025 Americas Stage 1.
Beginning Friday, March 21st, the twelve teams that make up the region will battle it out to decide who will become Stage 1 Champions, as well as find out which three teams will represent the Americas at Masters Toronto.
Without further ado, let's dive right in and have a look at everything there is to know about the VCT 2025 Americas Stage 1.
Credit: Riot GamesFormat
Just like the rest of the Stage 1 tournaments across the VCT, the Americas Stage 1 will be split into two phases: the Group Stage and the Playoffs.
Group Stage
The twelve teams that make up the VCT Americas will be divided into two groups: Group Alpha and Group Omega.
Over the course of the Group Stage, teams will compete across a single round-robin, playing every other team in their group once. In the end, only the top 4 teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs.
The first placed teams from each group will receive a bye into the Upper Bracket Semifinals. Second and third placed teams will head straight to the first round of the Upper Bracket, while fourth placed teams will need to start the Playoffs straight from the Lower Bracket.
Playoffs
The Playoffs will take place across a double-elimination bracket, where a total of 8 teams will compete for the title of VCT Americas Stage 1 Champions. In the Playoffs, all matches will be played in Bo3 series, with the exception of the Lower Bracket Finals and the Grand Finals, which will be Bo5 series instead.
The tournament's Grand Finals will take place on Sunday, May 4th. Moreover, the top 3 teams at the end of the Playoffs will be the three Americas representatives at the next stop of international competition: Masters Toronto.
The best teams in the region will compete across a double-elimination bracket to crown the Americas Stage 1 Champions. (Credit: Riot Games)Teams and Groups
Group Alpha:
Group Omega:
Schedule and Opening Matches
Stage 1 of the VCT Americas 2025 sets off on Friday, March 21st, and will run until the champions are crowned after the tournaments Grand Finals take place on Sunday, May 4th.
Group Stage matches will take place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday over the course of five consecutive weeks, with two matches being played each day. The first match of the day will begin at 2 pm PT, while the second match will start three hours later, at 5 pm PT.
The VCT 2025 Americas Stage 1 schedule for the month of March. (Credit: Riot Games)The very first day of Stage 1 in the Americas will feature two exciting matchups. First off, two North American teams begin their journey of redemption. Meanwhile, two South American squads will draw Day 1 to a close with their prides on the line.
Cloud9 vs NRG [Friday, March 21st - 2 pm PT / 10 pm CET]
Cloud9 roster: mitch / v1c / neT / OXY / Xeppaa
NRG roster: Ethan / FNS / mada / s0m / Brawk
NRG made a shocking move leading up to Stage 1 by removing Verno from the roster after the team bombed out of Kickoff. Now with Brawk on the roster in his stead, NRG might be slow to find their footing and develop enough synergy to start challenging the top teams in the region.
Though Cloud9 are a dysfunctional team themselves, OXY's firepower might be enough for the team to get past NRG to start their Stage 1 journey on a good note.
KRÜ Esports vs LOUD [Friday, March 21st - 5 pm PT / 1 am CET (the next day)]
KRÜ Esports roster: adverso / Keznit / Mazino / Melser / Shyy
LOUD roster: tuyz / cauanzin / v1nny / pANcada / dgz
The last time these two teams met, during Kickoff 2025, KRÜ came away with a comfortable victory over a LOUD team that is struggling to live up to its name.
In fact, KRÜ were putting up a commendable run through the lower bracket at Kickoff before aspas put a stop to the Chilean's show by doing aspas things. Now, coming into Stage 1 of the Americas, the team will have had more than a month to continue to refine their system with adverso at the helm as the squad looks to get back to the top of the league.
Ticket sales
To catch all of the VCT 2025 Americas Stage 1 action live at Riot Games arena in Los Angeles, California, you can purchase tickets for the tournament directly through the VCT Americas ticket shop.
Tickets for the Group Stage of the tournament are on sale now, with prices starting at $20 USD.
The Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles will host the VCT 2025 Americas Stage 1. (Credit: Riot Games)Where to watch
The VCT 2025 Americas Stage 1 will see the return of top-tier VALORANT to the region. To catch all of the action live at throughout the tournament, tune in to the official VCT Americas channels on Twitch or YouTube, starting Friday, March 21st, at 2 pm PT.
After coming so close to lifting the trophy at Masters Bangkok, can G2 Esports put up back-to-back titles in the Americas, or will a new contestant rise to the challenge?
Check out Strafe Esports for all the latest VALORANT news and our X account for the latest content and coverages. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.
Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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