On Day 3 of the VALORANT Champions Paris playoffs, two do-or-die matches lit up the city today. DRX narrowly avoided defeat against G2 Esports, losing on Lotus but then winning on Abyss and Bind. Meanwhile, Team Heretics secured a hard-fought victory in the EMEA derby, eliminating GIANTX.

The powerhouse gets upset

The premiere map will take place on Lotus. G2 blitzed the opening half and never looked back. Alexander "jawgemo" Mor turned Lotus into a Yoru highlight reel with explosive entries, back-to-back multi-kills and round-swinging openings that cracked DRX’s early defaults. With Jonah "JonahP" Pulice and Jacob "Valyn" Batio anchoring the mid-rounds, G2 controlled the pace and space, comfortably winning the first round.

The second map starts, and it will be on Abyss. DRX flipped the script with a cleaner read of G2’s conditioning, more proactive utility on chokes and better post-plants. The pivotal moment came when Song "HYUNMIN" Hyun-min ripped a late-half three kills, snatching momentum. After this, Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan and No "free1ng" Ha-jun cooled G2’s bonus-to-gun run. From 8–8, DRX chained the macros site hits, fast executions and denial ultimates to force the decider.

This match will be decided on Bind. The closer was one-way traffic. DRX's Bind defense stifled showers/short control and punished G2's pivots. Cho "Flashback" Min-hyuk's timing and MaKo's controller impact secured retakes, while Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin dominated late rounds. G2’s mid-round strategies were thwarted by DRX's perfect utility trading, and DRX secured a 2–1 series win.

One place for two EMEA teams

This fratricidal match will begin on Ascent. The Heretics got off to a flying start. Enes "RieNs" Ecirli farmed value as the initiator, while Dominykas "MiniBoo" Lukaševičius kept the pressure on catwalk and mid. Meanwhile, Benjamin "benjyfishy" Fish and Ričardas "Boo" Lukaševičius closed the retakes with no drama. GX never established control of the mid-lane and lost the opening duels.

Back on Lotus, GIANTX bounced back. Meanwhile, Karel "Flickless" Maeckelbergh and Eduard-George "Ara" Hanceriuc dominated the A-links and punished rotates, while Miłosz "Westside" Duda exploited B lurks. The Heretics were a step behind throughout the first half. GX steamrolled both sides to force a Bind victory.

Finally, it was all down to Bind. The decider came down to discipline. After GX levelled at 7–7, the Heretics structure held firm, with clean pistols, composed post-plants and smart stall utility from Boo. Mert "Wo0t" Alkan found impact picks at crucial moments, and RieNs sealed the victory in the final rounds to knock out GIANTX 2–1.