The Valorant VCT Masters 3 event is just around the corner, with the best teams in the world ready to battle it out to see who has adapted to the latest meta.

Returning and new viewers, alike, may have some questions about the format for the next major Valorant LAN event, with Riot switching things up for the first time.

Ahead, we’ll give you a breakdown of how the tournament will work along with what it will mean for the end-of-year Valorant Championship.

Riot Games

Group Stage

For the first time, Riot have introduced a Group Stage to the event.

After Masters 2, Riot expanded the number of teams that make Masters in some of the major regions. EMEA went from three to four, NA went from two to three, and some of the other regions got an extra spot.

To begin Masters 3, four teams have been separated into four groups, and will compete in a double-elimination tournament to see who moves on.

Riot Games

Main Event

After the Group Stage, the winners of each group will match up against a second-place finisher from a randomly assigned group.

From there, an eight-team single-elimination tournament to determine the winner.

World Final Implecations

The end-of-year World Final event will cap off a year of Valorant competition and crown the true champion of the world.

Teams are battling to earn points towards making the event.

The winner of the tournament gets an automatic invitation to Worlds. Sentinels, the favorite, have already won the previous two events and have a whopping 675 points before Masters 3 even begins.

The rest of the teams are still battling for qualification. With teams like Liquid and FNATIC missing the upcoming tournament, more EMEA teams have a shot at booking their ticket to World Finals after Masters 3.

Riot Games

Jimmy Russo is a writer and editor for jaxon.gg covering a variety of games and topics. He specializes in first-person shooters including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Valorant, while also covering livestreaming news on Twitch and other aspects of the gaming industry.