VALORANT Masters Shanghai 2024

Swiss Stage

• Format: An 8-team Swiss System where teams need 2 wins to advance to the Playoffs, while 2 losses mean immediate elimination.

• Match Style: All series throughout this stage are Best-of-3 (Bo3).

Round-by-Round Breakdown:

• Round 1: High-stakes opening matchups pairing each 2nd-seeded regional team against a 3rd-seeded team from a different region. (The official live draw was conducted by Victoria & Ender at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles following the VCT Americas Stage 1 Grand Final).

• Rounds 2 & 3: Seeding is strictly based on each team's current win-loss record, and intra-regional matchups are permitted. (The live draws for these rounds were conducted by Victoria & Yinsu at the Shanghai Valo Arena following the conclusion of each preceding round).

• Key Mechanics:

  • Teams cannot play the same opponent twice during this phase. If a repeat matchup is drawn, the second team is shifted to the next valid slot.

  • To ensure player welfare and fairness, scheduling prevents teams from playing back-to-back matches on consecutive days.

  • In Round 2, the first team drawn in each matchup secures the higher seeding advantage for map selections.

Playoffs

• Format: A ruthless Double-Elimination bracket consisting of 8 teams total:

  • 4 Regional Top-Seeded teams (who received a direct bye past the Swiss Stage).

  • 4 Qualifying teams advancing from the Swiss Stage.

The Playoff Selection Twist:

In a live selection ceremony at the Valo Arena hosted by Victoria, Yinsu, and Valora alongside team representatives, the 4 top-seeded teams were drawn in a random order to manually choose their opening Upper Bracket Quarterfinal opponents from the Swiss Stage qualifiers.

• The Selection Order:

  1. Paper Rex (Picked first)

  2. 100 Thieves (Picked second)

  3. EDward Gaming (Picked third)

  4. Fnatic (Assigned the final remaining Swiss Stage qualifier)

Series Length:

• Standard Bracket Matches: All opening and elimination rounds are Best-of-3 (Bo3).

• The Final Showdowns: Both the Lower Bracket Final and the Grand Final escalate to grueling, high-endurance Best-of-5 (Bo5) series.