VALORANT Champions 2025 Playoffs Stage: Pick’Ems Guide and Rewards

The conclusion of the Champions Paris Group Stage some days ago now makes way for the Playoffs Stage, where the final 8 teams face off in a grueling double-elimination bracket to earn a chance in that coveted Grand Finals and the eternal glory that comes with lifting the Champions trophy.

By this point, we should all be familiar with the Pick’Ems and what they are. But for the uninitiated, the Pick’Ems is a minigame on the VALORANT Esports website (also accessible in-game via the esports tab) that allows players and fans to participate in predicting the winners of each stage of competition, with the chance to earn prizes based on how well they do in the overall predictions.

Without any more delay, here are our predictions for Champions Paris – Playoffs edition.

Strafe’s Predictions for Champions Paris Playoffs

Unlike the Group Stage Pick’Ems, where teams were predicted on whether they would qualify, get eliminated, and the order of qualification and elimination within their own group, Playoffs Pick’Ems has participants predict the entire Playoffs bracket. There will be far more variance to successfully predict and little room for error should participants hope to secure the top prizes and bragging rights.

Round 1

The opening matchups is where we’ll kick things off. With the matchups pre-known, your job will be simply to predict a winner. However, predict wrong, and the cascading errors will stem from here.

Fnatic vs DRX

DRX qualified to Champions Paris through the Points System, and many had very little expectations for the team to make it deep. Despite that, DRX surprised many in their opening bout against Team Liquid, taking down the EMEA 1st seed in emphatic 2-0 fashion.

Fnatic meanwhile, struggled through their Group. Despite a solid 2-0 victory on the board, their wins against MIBR and RRQ were nowhere near as clean and came down to heroics and late-rounds clutches to clean up the games. We think DRX continues their run of good form at least one more round at Champs, and Fnatic get that reality check finally against a more polished opposition.

PRX vs G2

Another highly anticipated matchup, this pits two of the tournament’s favorites against one another in the opening bout of Playoffs. While this one is a tough one to call, G2’s overall success at Champs thus far has been a mark below their standard domestically, drawing some early eyebrows as to whether or not the ship is sinking faster than it can be patched.

Paper Rex, meanwhile, soared into Playoffs. Their game against XLG was textbook clean from the team, and while the GIANTX game provided some heart attacks in the mid-series, it wasn’t enough to take down the top seed of Pacific.  We think Paper Rex seizes this series with the momentum they’ve gained, while G2 will have to slog their way through the Lower Bracket.

Team Heretics vs MIBR

MIBR may have surprised some with their especial vigor in the Group Stage, but against this revitalized Team Heretics, it’s difficult to imagine a world where Heretics lose here. Heretics began their run at Champs by taking down G2 two-nil and followed it up with another two-nil against T1. While the competition in Group D may not have been the absolute strongest, Heretics’ individual showing is enough to convince that they can make a deep run at Champs.

MIBR, meanwhile, started out strong against BLG but faltered against a weakened Fnatic despite a roaring success of an opening map. Despite their follow-up victory against RRQ, I’d attribute more of that to RRQ’s failure to show up rather than specifically a success of MIBR.

NRG vs GIANTX

GIANTX’s run at Champs so far has been magnificent to watch. From their glow up domestically in EMEA Stage 2 to now on the Paris stage, GIANTX have impressed at every point of the way, even taking a map off tournament favorites Paper Rex.

Up against them is NRG. While overall an incredibly strong team that has shown good promise at this event, we think their fatal flaw has been their slow starts in all their matches. Late map comebacks can only take a team so far and eventually a team will be able to close out against them before NRG get their bearings. We think GIANTX have their momentum and skill as shown at this event to take down NRG and continue in the Upper Bracket.

Round 2

DRX vs Paper Rex

Based on earlier predictions, this would be the next matchup. DRX may have the momentum of the plucky underdog, but Paper Rex is one of the few teams at this event we think that can simply skill check their opposition into submission. We saw how DRX were caught off guard when Liquid called a faster tempo against them, and there is no team that excels at that more than Paper Rex.

Team Heretics vs GIANTX

Here’s where we think the dream run for GIANTX hits a bit of a reality check. While skilled, what GIANTX lacks is experience and they’re faced against one such team with plenty of it in big stages and moments. Moreover, Heretics’ own form at Champions has been extremely impressive to witness as well, making this a likely win for their side in this Upper Bracket EMEA derby.

Fnatic vs G2

Another big matchup. Neither team has shown super incredible form at this event, but G2 certainly look closer to it than Fnatic has. The latter’s struggles against MIBR were certainly alarming considering the team’s early exit from EMEA Stage 2 left them more time than many others to prep for this event. Their lack of cohesion on a number of rounds and overreliance on clutch factor especially from Boaster and Chronicle – coupled with kaajak’s questionable form at this event seals the deal for me. I think this is where Fnatic’s run at Champions Paris ends. I’d love to be proven wrong, but as it stands, I don’t see them closing out against this G2 side who are heating up.

MIBR vs NRG

MIBR is the second team I predict to be eliminated first from Playoffs. While their run in Group Stage was fairly impressive, I think NRG has shown us more consistency and a higher success rate against better teams. Overall, this means I weigh their chances better against an up-and-down MIBR side.

Round 3

Paper Rex vs Team Heretics

If there’s going to be one unexpected result this Playoffs, it’s likely to be Team Heretics vs Paper Rex. Both sides look red hot coming into this portion of the tournament. While I do see Paper Rex as the most likely team to win the event, I think one crucial loss here in the Upper Bracket is inevitable and invaluable to their overall run chances. Their overall discipline will be tested well going against Heretics, who have the players to punish over aggression and the tactics to test PRX’s map pool.

GIANTX vs G2

I think this is where GIANTX’s miracle run stops. Tested against a strong G2 side, the strat book and map pool depth will surely be tested to a degree that they haven’t been thus far. While G2 has not looked as good as they have the rest of the year, even at their current level, they should suffice to put away GIANTX.

DRX vs NRG

This is also where I see DRX’s run end at Champions Paris. Faced against NRG who have had ample time to study their opponents, I think DRX’s ace-in-the-hole composition of Waylay Yoru gets figured out here.

Round 4

G2 vs NRG

We’ve seen this matchup domestically already. Given how the last series went between these two teams, I see a huge confidence boost for G2, who should be able to close out this series against a familiar opponent.

Lower Finals

Paper Rex vs G2

Dropped to the Lower Bracket, a repeat matchup between Paper Rex and G2 should still go the way of Paper Rex. With the form of both teams currently, it’s difficult to imagine G2 being able to contain the 'W Gaming' side, especially if something comes out with a hot start.

Grand Finals

Team Heretics vs Paper Rex

The long-awaited finals and a rematch between Heretics and Paper Rex. I had the Upper Finals going the way of Team Heretics but in this rematch, I envision a far more polished Paper Rex hungry for the rematch. While it’s extremely difficult to even imagine the entire bracket playing out exactly to this point, should I prove to be a prophet, I’d give the edge to Paper Rex.

*The above predictions are based on what I’ve assessed from Group Stage performances, factoring in overall form throughout the year. While I may be overrating or underrating some teams at this event, the results were predicted with no inherent bias (I believe).

Pick'Em Rewards for VCT Champions Paris

The Pick'Ems for VCT Champions Paris comes with enticing prizes as well. For simply participating, players will earn the "Make a Pick" spray.

And for those special players who perform especially well in the Pick'Ems, two more rewards await them:

• "Top 20%" Gun Buddy for those who finish in the top 20% on the global Pick'Ems leaderboard.
• "Perfect" Player Title

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Featured Image Credit: Riot Games

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