VCT 2026 EMEA Kickoff betting predictions – Wednesday, January 28

VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2026 EMEA Kickoff continues on Wednesday, January 28, with a pair of mid-bracket round 1 fixtures, as PCIFIC Esports clash with GIANTX, followed by ULF Esports facing off against Team Heretics.

Esportbet brings you free VALORANT betting predictions and expert picks for the two games, with esports odds courtesy of the top-rated esports bookmakers.

• 

  Fast Payouts

PCIFIC ESPORTS vs GIANTX

PCIFIC Esports started their firsts season in VCT EMEA with a 1-2 loss against BBL Esports. It was a much more competitive game than expected, with PCIFIC narrowly losing on Breeze with 10-13 and dominating BBL on Abyss with 13-7, before slipping on Pearl with 4-13.

GIANTX also failed to start the season with a win, as they had to admit defeat to Gentle Mates with 10-13 on Pearl and Bind. While GIANTX are expected to bounce back, they looked a bit rusty last week, which suggests they are vulnerable.

• 

  The bookies' bookie

The top VALORANT bookmakers have PCIFIC priced as +450 underdogs, which is a huge number for an early-season match. Even though GIANTX appear stronger on paper, PCIFIC have a lot of firepower, which can catch Kirill “Cloud” Nekhozhin and his crew off-guard.

ULF ESPORTS vs TEAM HERETICS

ULF Esports suffered a crushing loss in the first round of VCT EMEA. They had to admit defeat to Team Vitality, who won with 13-3 on Breeze and 13-1 on Corrode.

The disappointing VCT EMEA debut does not inspire much confidence that ULF will do any damage at the highest level. And it is even harder to believe they will manage to leave a dent in Team Heretics.

Despite their 1-2 defeat against Natus Vincere in the upper bracket, Team Heretics remain one of the league’s top dogs and cannot afford to lose to teams like ULF. A quick 2-0 is likely on the cards.