VALORANT news and analysis

VALORANT news read from Riot’s patch notes and its esports announcements together — the patch an event is played on, the maps in the pool, and what changed in the game you queue into.

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Report · 8 min read

Champions 2026 finishes on patch 13.05: no Warden, seven maps, and a final on 18 October

VALORANT Champions 2026 resumes 16 October in Shanghai, grand final 18 October — all on patch 13.05, so the new Warden rifle is never used at the event.

GamGem Research · 13 October 2026

Still open — 4

The exact first-map time of each finals-weekend day, beyond Riot’s 14:00 show start.
Champions 2026 finishes on patch 13.05: no Warden, seven maps, and a final on 18 October
The Champions 2026 bundle’s price and last day in the store — no Riot page we read gives either.
Champions 2026 finishes on patch 13.05: no Warden, seven maps, and a final on 18 October
Where the bundle’s reported Douyin sales figure was measured, and by whom.
Champions 2026 finishes on patch 13.05: no Warden, seven maps, and a final on 18 October
When the Warden first appears in professional play, and on which patch.
Champions 2026 finishes on patch 13.05: no Warden, seven maps, and a final on 18 October

These pieces rest on 14 sources across 5 publishers and primary documents — insider-gaming.com · playvalorant.com · strafe.com · thespike.gg · valorantesports.com — each read on the date printed beside it in the article that cites it.

How this section works

Times are taken from Riot’s pages and converted, not copied from countdown sites. A sales figure or leak that nobody can trace is printed as a report with its outlet, or not at all.