VCT 2026 Americas Stage 1 marks the first full league split of the year for North and South American teams, running from late March to late May with 12 partnered teams competing for championship points, a Masters London berth, and early momentum toward Champions 2026.

While Riot has not released exact Stage 1 prize pool figures yet, the prize distribution will be tied to group stage wins and final placements, influencing international standings and future seeding.

The stage uses a two-phase format: a group stage with two groups of six in a single round-robin, followed by an eight-team playoff (top four from each group) with upper and lower brackets, and all matches are best-of-three except the finals, which are best-of-five.

Teams earn one point per group stage win, plus Championship points for Stage 1 placements (6 for champion, 4 for runner-up, 3 for third, 2 for fourth); these points affect seeding and qualification for Stage 2, Season Finals, and Champions, and they accumulate with Kickoff and Masters Santiago results.

Matches begin on April 10, 2026, at Riot Games Arena in the United States, with daily times and fixtures to be announced as Stage 1 approaches.

The 12 partnered teams are 100 Thieves, Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, FURIA, KRÜ Esports, Leviatán, LOUD, MIBR, NRG, Sentinels, G2 Esports, and ENVY, seeded into groups based on their final standings at the 2026 Kickoff event to ensure balanced competition.

Stage 1 mirrors other regions in structure, with the top three teams earning qualification to Masters London, making performance across the season especially critical.