Paper Rex and NRG have both qualified for the Champions Paris playoffs after big reverse sweep victories to send them into the tournament’s latter stages.
VALORANT Champions Paris’ Group Stage is reaching fever-pitch with teams’ tournament lives hanging in the balance. The #1 Pacific seed, Paper Rex, topped Group A, while NRG, the #2 seed from Americas, topped Group C.
While the results themselves won’t surprise many, both NRG and Paper Rex made hard work of the group stage.
NRG is the master of the Champions Paris comeback. Image Credit: Riot Games
Paper Rex Reverse-Sweeps GIANTX
At the start of Champions Paris, GIANTX was #18 on the VCT Global Power Rankings.
Despite the low ranking, the EMEA squad managed to beat Sentinels 2-1, whereas Paper Rex took care of business with a 2-0 against XLG Esports in the opening matches of Group A.
Paper Rex clashed with GIANTX in the Winner’s Match to determine who topped Group A, and sparks flew.
Despite the huge ranking gap between the two teams, it was underdogs GIANTX who took an early 1-0 lead, winning its map pick, Ascent, in a close 13-11 slugfest.
Showing big-match temperament under immense pressure, Paper Rex bounced back on Lotus to win 13-10, despite a uncharacteristically poor performance by Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto, who could only manage a 12-17 K-D.
On the deciding map, Sunset, Paper Rex came out swinging with renewed vigor, taking GIANTX to school with a dominant 13-6 win.
With the win, Paper Rex secured first place in Group A of Champions Paris and advances to the playoffs. GIANTX will face the winner of XLG Esports and Sentinels in the Decider Match on Sept. 21 for the second spot in the knockout stage.
NRG completes the comeback against DRX
In Group C, DRX showcased strength as the #4 seed from Pacific, beating Team Liquid with a clean 2-0 in the opening match.
What’s more impressive, however, is how NRG beat defending champions EDward Gaming 2-0, with a record comeback (from nine rounds down) on Abyss, the first map of the series.
The Champions Paris Group Stage at the end of Sept. 17. Image Credit: Riot Games
In the Winner’s Match of Group C, DRX shocked NRG with a decisive 13-4 win on their map pick, Haven. NRG bounced back on Corrode, narrowly avoiding overtime to win 13-11, on the back of a powerful 22-17 performance from Canadian Adam “mada” Pampuch, who was also the spearhead of his team’s success against EDward Gaming.
DRX took an 8-4 lead in the first half of play on Lotus. NRG won the first four rounds in the second half to tie the score 8-8, before DRX won three in a row for an 11-8 lead.
On the brink of defeat, NRG rallied to win five in a row to close out Lotus 13-11, thereby completing the reverse-sweep.
In the Group C decider match on Sept. 21, DRX will face the winner of Team Liquid and EDward Gaming for a spot in the Champions Paris playoffs.
Once the dust settles over the Champions Paris Group Stage on Sept. 21, the playoff bracket will be revealed.