Arena of Valor Premier League 2026 Kicks Off in Ho Chi Minh
Arena of Valor Premier League 2026 begins in Ho Chi Minh City with 16 teams competing for about $494,000; the event runs through July 19.
Garena has opened the Arena of Valor Premier League 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City. Sixteen teams are competing for a prize pool of about $494,000 in the mid-year tournament carried under the slogan ‘Valor Rises, Battles Collide.’ The event begins with a Swiss Stage and concludes with a double-elimination playoff and grand final on July 19.
The Swiss Stage runs for five rounds. Teams are paired each round against opponents with the same win-loss record and there are no regional protections in the draw. Matches that decide elimination or qualification are best-of-five; all other Swiss matches are best-of-three. Any team that reaches three wins in the Swiss Stage advances to the playoffs. The Swiss Stage runs through June, and the playoffs start on July 4.
The playoffs use a double-elimination bracket. Opening round matches are best-of-five and all subsequent playoff matches are best-of-seven. Playoff matches follow the Global Ban-Pick Rules for map and hero selection. The tournament will award the champion on July 19.
The field includes Team Flash, Saigon Phantom, FPT Polytechnic, GAM Esports, Deep Cross Gaming, WANIN Flash Wolves, Buriram United, BanMei Gaming, ANK Gaming, FULL SENSE, King of Gamers Club, SOLYX, Hong Kong Attitude, ONE Team, One Star Esports and Bacon Time.
Organizers list the prize breakdown as approximately $494,000 in total. The champion receives $200,000, the runner-up $100,000, third place $70,000 and fourth place $30,000. Fifth and sixth places receive $20,000 each, seventh and eighth receive $14,000 each, and ninth through sixteenth places receive $2,000 each. Individual awards include a $5,000 Final MVP prize and $1,000 prizes for the top player in each lane: DS Lane, Jungle, Mid, AD Lane and Support.
Although the event is offline in Ho Chi Minh City, Garena is streaming matches on its social channels so international viewers can watch live on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. The schedule runs through June for the Swiss Stage and ends with the grand final on July 19.
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