VCT Pacific 2025 Kickoff: Opening Matchups Revealed

Valorant

17 Dec

Kaustavmani Choudhury

As the calendar approaches the end of 2024, the competitive VALORANT scene is buzzing with anticipation. Riot Games has rolled out the curtain on yet another key event in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 schedule, this time revealing the matchups for the VCT Pacific Kickoff tournament.

Starting January 18th, twelve elite teams from across the Pacific region will battle it out for two coveted spots at VCT Masters Bangkok later in the year. Here’s everything you need to know about the kickoff event, its revamped format, and the opening matchups.

VCT 2025 Pacific Kickoff: Quick Format Recap

The Kickoff tournaments for 2025 have undergone significant changes, shaking up the competitive landscape for the new season. In contrast to the 2024 edition, which featured a three-stage structure (Group Stage, Playoffs, and optional Play-Ins), this year’s format promises a more streamlined approach: a single double-elimination bracket.

The twelve participating teams enter the tournament with no group play, diving straight into high-stakes matchups. The top four teams from the 2024 season—those who qualified for VALORANT Champions—have earned a first-round bye. This puts these squads one step closer to qualification.

Eight teams face off in four opening matches.
The four first-round winners advance to meet the four top-seeded teams.
Teams that lose still have a chance to fight their way back through the lower bracket.
Two teams will face off in the Grand Finals, and secure spots at Masters Bangkok.

Here is a visual for how the Kickoff bracket will appear in 2025:

Image Source: Riot Games

VCT Pacific Kickoff 2025 Opening Matches:

Riot Games has officially announced the first-round matchups, and fans are already bracing for thrilling battles. The action kicks off on January 18th, with four exciting clashes scheduled across two days.

Four teams—Paper Rex, TALON, Gen.G, and DRX—will enter the tournament in the second round thanks to their stellar 2024 campaigns. These squads need only two clean victories to secure their spots at Masters Bangkok, making their paths significantly shorter than their competitors.

VCT Pacific Kickoff 2025 Week 1 Schedule

Image Source: Riot Games

VCT 2025 Pacific Kickoff Opening Matchup Result Prediction

Author Note: Predictions are based on this writer's observations and reasoning and are not meant to represent any inherent bias against or for.

BOOM Esports vs T1 (Jan 18 17:00 KST)

BOOM Esports Roster: BerserX / famouz / Shiro / NcSlasher / dos9

T1 Roster: iZu / stax / Sylvan / Meteor / BuZz

BOOM Esports is one of the two newest additions to the VCT Pacific League, promoted from Tier 2 to replace BLEED Esports, who exited amid controversy. Despite finishing second in the VCT Pacific Ascension, BOOM's recent form has raised doubts, with off-season losses to Rex Regum Qeon and Team Secret suggesting struggles against Tier 1 teams.

On the other hand, T1 enters the 2025 season with a revamped roster, featuring some of Korea’s finest players. Their dominance was evident at Red Bull Home Ground #5, where they claimed victory over top-tier teams like G2 and Cloud9. With T1’s strong momentum and BOOM’s inconsistency, the odds strongly favor T1 in this matchup unless BOOM can muster an unexpected resurgence.

ZETA Division vs Nongshim RedForce (Jan 18 19:00 KST)

ZETA Division Roster: Dep / SugarZ3ro / CLZ / SyouTa / Xdll

Nongshim RedForce Roster: Dambi / Francis / Ivy / margaret / Persia

ZETA Division enters 2025 with a restructured roster, replacing three players from their 2024 lineup. The changes have already shown promise, as they secured second place at the Red Bull Home Ground #5 APAC Play-in, narrowly missing qualification after losing to T1. Additionally, ZETA earned an international victory against Leviatán at the Riot Games ONE PRO Invitational 2024, further showcasing their potential.

Nongshim RedForce, formerly Sin Prisa Gaming, is the second new team in the VCT Pacific League. After winning VCT Pacific Ascension 2024, their roster was acquired by Nongshim. While solid in Ascension, they lack recent off-season experience against Tier 1 teams. With ZETA’s recent experiences and proven form, they are the safer pick for this matchup.

Global Esports vs Team Secret (Jan 19 17:00 KST)

Global Esports Roster: kellyS / Kr1stal / PapiChulo / patrickWHO / UdoTan

Team Secret Roster: JessieVash / Jremy / invy / 2GE / Wild0reoo

Global Esports has revamped its roster, bringing in talent from across the Pacific Tier 2 after a disappointing 2024 season. The new lineup has shown promise, with steady performances at the Global Esports: Face Off, defeating three of the five invited teams, including Rare Atom. Their only losses, to NAOS and BOOM, were narrow and hard-fought.

They now face Filipino rivals Team Secret, who finished a respectable 5th-6th in the 2024 VCT Pacific season. Team Secret retained their roster during the off-season, being one of the very few to do so. Though they’ve played only one off-season match—a dominant Bo1 win against BOOM Esports—it highlights their readiness. Given Team Secret’s consistency and GE’s rect form, Team Secret seems poised to take this matchup.

DetonatioN FocusMe vs Rex Regum Qeon (Jan 19 19:00 KST)

Detonation FocusMe Roster: Meiy / Akame / Art / gyen / Jinboong

Rex Regum Qeon Roster: xffero / Estrella / Jemkin / monyet / Kush

DetonatioN FocusMe underwent a complete roster overhaul after a dismal 2024 season, where they finished 12th with only 2 wins out of 10 games. With fresh talent on board, DFM has shown significant improvement. They secured 2nd place at the VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational, defeating EDG, Trace, and even Paper Rex along the way. They also claimed an impressive win against Leviatán, signaling their upward trajectory.

Rex Regum Qeon made just one roster change during the off-season following their resurgence late in 2024. However, this adjustment has introduced some inconsistency. While they’ve split recent matches against DFM, RRQ has also suffered losses to PRX, T1, and TALON. Given their stronger recent form, DFM is favored to take this matchup.

Check out Strafe Esports for all the latest VALORANT news and our X account for the latest content and coverage. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

For more VALORANT rostermania news, check out our VCT EMEA and VCT Americas rostermania for all the latest shuffles.

Featured Image Credit: VCT Pacific // Riot Game

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