Abyss Returns to Map Pool Ahead of Champions 2026, Breeze Removed from Rotation

VALORANT Map Pool in Season 2026 Act 5

After the update, the active rotation includes seven maps:

• Abyss
• Ascent
• Haven
• Lotus
• Split
• Summit
• Sunset

Breeze returned to the competitive mode on January 6 with the release of patch 12.00. At that time, Riot Games introduced a significantly reworked version of the location, which replaced Sunset. Between the map's return on January 6 and its removal on August 18, 224 days passed. This was the longest continuous period for Breeze in the map pool since its removal in June 2024.

When Abyss Was Last in Rotation

Before its current return, Abyss was in the competitive map pool from August 19, 2025, to March 17. In patch 12.05, Riot Games removed Abyss and Corrode to make room for Lotus and Fracture. The previous period of the map's presence lasted 210 days.

After this, Abyss was absent from Competitive and Deathmatch for 154 days: from March 17 until the release of patch 13.04 on August 18. The last change with its removal was recorded in patch 12.05.

Icebox has remained out of the competitive map pool since August 19, 2025. At that time, the map made way for Abyss in patch 11.04. As of the release of update 13.04, the location has been out of rotation for 364 days, almost a year. Riot Games has yet to announce its return date.

Haven Has Been in the Map Pool Longer Than Any Other Map

The longest-standing map in the current rotation is Haven. It returned to Competitive on June 11, 2024, with patch 8.11 and has not left the active map pool since.

As of August 18, Haven has been continuously in rotation for 798 days. In comparison, the other maps in the current set returned or were added significantly later: Split in October 2025, Lotus in March, Ascent in April, and Sunset and Summit in June. Haven's return coincided with the removal of Breeze and Split in patch 8.11.

Comparison of Map Pools for Champions 2025 and Champions 2026

At VALORANT Champions 2025, teams played on Abyss, Ascent, Bind, Corrode, Haven, Lotus, and Sunset. In 2026, five out of seven maps remained the same.

Category: Maps Retained in the Map Pool: Abyss, Ascent, Haven, Lotus, Sunset.

Were at Champions 2025 but Absent in 2026: Bind, Corrode.

Added to Champions 2026: Split, Summit.

Thus, the map pools of the two championships match by 71.4%: five common maps out of seven. The main difference lies in the return of Split and the introduction of Summit, which replaced Bind and Corrode. The VALORANT Champions 2025 map pool included Abyss, Ascent, Bind, Corrode, Haven, Lotus, and Sunset.