VALORANT Champions 2026 continues on September 27 with 100 Thieves vs T1 and JD Gaming vs FUT Esports in Group A.
100 Thieves will clash with T1, followed by a meeting between JD Gaming and FUT Esports on Sunday, September 27, in the first round of Group A at VALORANT Champions 2026.
Esportbet brings you free VALORANT predictions, odds from the top-rated esports bookmakers, and betting picks for the two fixtures.
100 Thieves are one of the main candidates to hoist the VALORANT Champions trophy, and for all the right reasons.
They have been hot in recent months, winning the Esports World Cup and VCT Americas Stage 2 without any major issues.
Earlier in the season, 100T showed some signs of life, but they seem to have become much more efficient in the current meta.
And the momentum 100 Thieves have accumulated cannot be overlooked either.
T1 enter VALORANT Champions with low expectations, mainly because they have had a bit of an up-and-down year.
They have been very solid in VCT Pacific, with a runner-up finish in the Kickoff event, fourth in Stage 1, and a bronze medal from Stage 2.
At internationals, T1 have not been that great.
They managed a ninth-10th place finish at VALORANT Masters Santiago and did not qualify for the Esports World Cup or Masters London.
T1 like to play double-duelist compositions, which is something 100 Thieves have faced before and have done fairly well, largely thanks to their firepower.
So, if it comes to a brawlier match, it is hard not to give 100 Thieves a nod.
The best VALORANT bookmakers have 100T listed at -133.33 to sweep, which is a fair offer.
100 Thieves -1.5 maps
JD Gaming qualified for VALORANT Champions by placing second in VCT China Stage 2, which is their most notable accomplishment of the season, besides a third-place finish at China Evolution Series Act 1.
Even at the start of Stage 2, JD Gaming looked very shaky, ending Group Alpha in fifth place with a 1-4 record.
However, in the Play-Ins, JD Gaming started to show more signs of life, beating FunPlus Phoenix, EDward Gaming, and Trace Esports, to which they added wins against TYLOO and Bilibili Gaming in the playoffs.
The sudden resurgence inspires some confidence that JD Gaming can deliver in VALORANT Champions.
However, they are up against FUT Esports, who have been a fairly solid VCT EMEA team this season.
As good as FUT Esports have been at times, they are also very momentum-driven and can easily collapse if things do not go their way.
Stylistically, JD Gaming should match up well with FUT Esports, as they have been very good against fast-tempo teams.
On the other side, FUT are qualitatively a better team.
At the offered odds, taking FUT Esports’ side makes the most sense.
FUT Esports to win
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
