NRG win VCT Champions Paris 2025 in five-map thriller over Fnatic

NRG has officially won VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions after taking down Fnatic in a five-game thriller that saw both teams battling to their maximum capacity.

It was a rematch of the Upper Bracket Final earlier this week as and NRG walked onto the Champions Stage one final time in their quest to become the next VALORANT World Champion.

For NRG, their path to this point was nearly flawless as they had yet to drop a series throughout VALORANT Champions Paris. As for Fnatic, their path was similarly strong despite facing several setbacks throughout the tournament, such as needing to play with Domagoj "Doma" Fancev as an emergency sub for Emir "Alfajer" Beder for their match against Paper Rex. Yet, despite these setbacks, Fnatic was able to prevail and made their way to the Grand Final to exact their revenge against NRG for sending them there in the first place.

NRG dominate the first two maps

NRG completely dominated the first two maps on their map pick of Corrode and Fnatic’s map pick of Lotus. Game one on Corrode saw NRG overpower Fnatic with a 13-3 scoreline as Brock "brawk" Somerhalder took over the game with 24 kills and a 1.93 Rating to his name.

That continued on Fnatic’s map pick of Lotus when they dismantled Fnatic once more, taking game two with a strong 13-6 victory, taking the series to match point.

Fnatic mount comeback on Abyss

Map three saw NRG take a gigantic lead once more as they ended the first half on Abyss with an 11-1 scoreline as things looked dire for Fnatic. However, Fnatic were able to stun NRG in the second half as they were able to climb back from a 10-round deficit to bring the series into overtime and eventually a fourth map.

That momentum carried over into Ascent where Fnatic showcased their veteran status as a team to bring VALORANT Champions Paris to a final game five decider for the championship title.

NRG stop Fnatic from the underdog win

Heading into the final map on Sunset, NRG had not won a Sunset game all throughout 2025 and were 0-5 on Sunset in the year. Despite that, NRG saw yet another strong start in the series, this time taking over Sunset with a 9-3 first half. However, not wanting to repeat what happened on Abyss, NRG in-game leader Ethan "Ethan" Cole Arnold made sure another comeback would not happen for Fnatic. In the final map, the NRG IGL took over Sunset as he led the team with 23 kills and a 1.71 Rating en route to his second VALORANT Champions trophy.

NRG rookie brawk was named as the VALORANT Champions Paris MVP for defining the meta through his strong Odin gameplay throughout 2025. Additionally, NRG’s victory marks the Americas region’s third VALORANT Champions title, following in the footsteps of LOUD’s 2022 victory and Evil Geniuses' 2023 win. With VALORANT Champions Paris over, teams will now look toward the offseason to recoup themselves for the new-look VCT 2026 season.

Feature Image: Image via Liu YiCun