Valorant Esports News

VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 kicks off Friday, September 12th. With a $2.25 million USD cash prize on the line, VALORANT’s most important tournament of the year will play host to some of the biggest names in the scene, all vying for the most-sought after accolade – Champions winner. Before Champions kicks off though, here is everything you’d need to know before you begin watching: Champions Paris Anthem Featuring “templuv” and “347aidan”, VALORANT’s newest Champions anthem – “Last Shot” – is a powerful entry with lyrics attempting to capture the efforts of circumnavigating pressure and stress, perfect for a tournament asmore

Arguably the best player in VALORANT’s short history, Leo "Leo" Jannesson has announced his departure from competitive play via FNATIC’s X handle. The decision to step away from competition comes on the back of a long-standing battle with long COVID, a serious health challenge that affects both physical performance and mental well-being. A Short but Storied Career Initially playing under the Guild Esports banner, Leo made a name for himself with his clutch potential. He was signed by FNATIC formore

Earlier today, September 6th, Riot Games announced the termination of Movistar KOI’s VCT EMEA partnership, citing a “breach of contractual agreement”. The team will no longer compete in the VCT 2026. While Movistar KOI hasn’t been the best team in EMEA, the announcement comes as a shock to everyone, including KOI's co-owner Ibai "Ibai" Llanos Garatea. Failure on Multiple Levels Joining VCT EMEA as a partnered member, KOI has been the worst team in terms of performance. In the threemore

Dragon Ranger Gaming has officially announced via their X account that they have signed Maximilian "Demon1" Mazanov, the 2023 VALORANT Champions MVP, ahead of VALORANT Champions Paris 2025. The move comes after weeks of speculation linking Demon1 to the team, particularly following rumors that he might substitute for Ilya "vo0kashu" Ushakov, who has been facing difficulties in obtaining his Schengen visa for the tournament. A Tumultuous Career Since Champions 2023 Demon1’s rise to stardom came with Evil Geniuses during theirmore

Yesterday in the latest VALORANT patch notes, it was announced that the VCT Champions Pick’Ems would be returning for Champions Paris. Starting from September 12th, 16 teams will assemble in France to compete for the most prestigious of tournaments in the VALORANT esports calendar – Champions. Today, Pick'Ems officially open and players will be able to select the winner in each scheduled matchup, with prizes on the line for players who successfully predict well throughout the tournament. The feature hasmore

Over the weekend, VCT EMEA saw a successful conclusion to its 2025 season with Team Liquid lifting the Stage 2 trophy after a closely contested series against GIANTX in the Grand Finals. With preparations now mounting for the grand finale to the VCT Season – Champions Paris 2025, thoughts begin drifting towards the upcoming 2026 VCT season and beyond. Strafe Esports had the opportunity to attend a roundtable session during the final days of the 2025 VCT EMEA season alongmore

Riot Games’ 2v2 tag-team fighting game’s roster just got bigger. Along with the release of the closed beta on Tuesday, September 9, League’s Support Champion Blitzcrank will join 2XKO. Blitzcrank joins the fold The indestructible automaton from Zaun, Blitzcrank is one of the oldest Champions introduced to League of Legends. Previously designed as a Tank/Support champion, Blitzcrank is currently a bot lane Support mainstay. Similar to its League version, 2XKO Blitzcrank has the “Rocket Grab” and the iterations of themore

The VCT Americas Stage 2 2025 concluded with a notable decline in viewership compared to previous years, raising concerns about the region’s competitive scene and its audience engagement. Unlike earlier seasons, where peak matches garnered significant attention, this year's Stage 2 playoffs failed to resonate broadly, marking a worrying trend for one of VALORANT's key regional leagues. Viewership Numbers in Decline According to esports data, the peak concurrent viewership for VCT Americas Stage 2 2025 was 295,084, which is amore

Champions Pick’Ems are coming to VALORANT with Patch 11.05, releasing on Thursday, September 4. Riot Games has kept the patch light, focusing on bug fixes and smaller updates rather than major gameplay changes. VALORANT Champions 2025 Pick’Ems The highlight of Patch 11.05 is the arrival of Pick’Ems. Starting September 4, players can access the Champions 2025 edition both in-client and @on the VALORANT website. Predict advancing teams for points, with exact placements rewarding bonus points. Join your favorite creator’s factionmore

A closely contested and yet ultimately one-sided Grand Finals went the way of Team Liquid last night as they secured their first domestic title of 2025 in the VCT EMEA 2025 Stage 2 Grand Finals against GIANTX. Following a season’s worth of strong performances, the roster finally succeeded in lifting a trophy in their home region – signaling a strong omen for their coming Champions Paris run. Following their Grand Finals victory, Strafe Esports sat down with an elated Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski of Team Liquid to hear his thoughts on their win, the long journey to Champions Paris, the challengesmore

This is it. The culmination of an entire year of VCT action will kick off when teams take the stage in Paris starting Friday, September 12th. Now that every Stage 2 regional champion has been crowned, it's time to take a look at the VALORANT Champions 2025 groups. VALORANT Champions 2025 Groups The groups have been drawn, spreading the four representatives of each VCT region into four groups, where they will have to fight tooth and nail to make itmore

G2 Esports delivered a masterful performance on Sunday evening, sweeping NRG by 3-0 in the Grand Finals of the 2025 Valorant Champions Tour Americas Stage 2. The match, held on August 31st, showcased G2's tactical superiority and individual brilliance as they captured their regional championship in convincing fashion. The European organization entered the best-of-five series as overwhelming favorites, with 85.5% of Strafe users backing G2 compared to just 14.5% for NRG. This confidence proved well-founded as G2 controlled every aspectmore

With a dominant 3-0 sweep over GIANTX, Team Liquid have lifted the VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 2 trophy. The win marks their first title in two years, following VCT EMEA 2023, and comes after narrowly missing out on the previous two VCT 2025 events. A Strong Year of Rebuild After a disappointing 2024, Liquid rebuilt their roster around nAts, the team’s cornerstone since the start of the International Leagues. They signed paTiTek, kamo, and kamyk to complete the squad, butmore

Paper Rex reaffirmed its dominance over the Pacific VALORANT scene by capturing its third regional trophy at the LaLa Arena in Tokyo. The Singaporean squad sealed a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Rex Regum Qeon in front of a roaring crowd, just months after lifting the Masters Toronto trophy. Grand Finals Recap: PRX 3-1 RRQ The series opened on Paper Rex’s map pick, Bind, where they set the tempo early with decisive, aggressive play. Led by something, whose exceptional skills onmore

After a nail-biting Upper Finals, Team Liquid became the first team to qualify for the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Playoffs Grand Finals - their second domestic finals of 2025. In a series that truly went the distance, Team Liquid and BBL exchanged mighty blows in their fourth consecutive faceoff of the year – with the highly coveted Champions spot on the line for BBL (and Heretics). With one final hurdle to overcome here in Berlin, Team Liquid will need to face the Grand Final stage and GIANTX. In the aftermath of the series and ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Finals, Strafe Esportsmore

The 2025 VALORANT Champions bundle has officially been revealed by Riot Games and is set to become one of this year’s most coveted in-game collections. Featuring a dazzling gold-and-black Vandal and, for the first time, a flex item, the bundle launches a few weeks before VALORANT Champions 2025 and directly supports esports teams. Bundle Contents and Release Dates The latest Champions bundle includes the eye-catching Champions Vandal and a striking butterfly knife, both themed around the Champions event aesthetic. For the first time in VALORANT history, the bundle adds a Flex item. This one resembles the Champions trophy, along withmore

The road to VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 is nearing its end, and the world’s best teams are preparing for the biggest event of the year. After months of regional battles across the VCTs, sixteen teams will gather in Paris this September to fight for the ultimate crown. With spots earned through both Stage 2 playoffs and Championship Points, the competition represents not just the strongest lineups of the season but also the most consistent performers throughout the year. Teams Qualified for VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 Americas G2 Esports Sentinels NRG MIBR EMEA Team Liquid GIANTX Fnatic Team Heretics China Bilibilimore

Following an electric back-and-forth series between GIANTX and Natus Vincere, the former has now successfully advanced to top 3 in VCT EMEA for Stage 2 Playoffs – the deepest run GIANTX have had since qualifying for Champions 2023 via Last Chance Qualifier. However, the job’s far from done. Turkish opponent BBL stands between them and a shot at the Grand Finals and the crown. Ahead of today’s VCT EMEA Stage 2 Playoffs Lower Finals, Strafe Esports sat down with GIANTX Head Coach Daniil “pipsoN” Meshcheryakov to hear his thoughts on their previous series, their upcoming match against BBL, their runmore

A year of VCT action is headed to its grand conclusion in EMEA with Stage 2 finals weekend already underway. Meanwhile, changes are brewing in the Tier-2 scene in the region as updates arrive to the format and schedule of the VCT EMEA Ascension 2025 tournament, while the prize pool of the mixed-gender competition Blender Spotlight is revealed. Ascension Heads to the Riot Games Arena First off, the VCT EMEA has announced that its 2025 Ascension tournament will start one day earlier than anticipated. This means that the race to make it into the VCT EMEA 2026 is set tomore

Pro City has officially returned in August 2025, marking an important improvement in North American competitive gaming. The exclusive competitive platform, created by content creator and former professional player Tarik "tarik" Celik, relaunched with enhanced features and improved infrastructure. Tarik's Pro City aims to address persistent issues in ranked matchmaking while providing a premium competitive environment for professional players and aspiring talents. Origins and Return of Pro City Pro City first launched in January 2023 as Tarik's solution to the deteriorating state of ranked matchmaking in North America. The platform addressed widespread frustrations among professional players dealing with crypto throwers,more