VALORANT - Champions 2025: PRX in control, GIANTX seal the reverse on Haven in Day 1

Day 1 of the VALORANT Champions in Paris set an early tone for the group stage. Within Group A, Paper Rex recovered from a slow start to sweep XLG on Bind and Sunset, with Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto's pistol-round heroics and Something's tournament-first ace proving pivotal. Meanwhile, GIANTX overcame Sentinels in a three-map decider, capitalising on their dominant defensive performance on Sunset to secure the momentum needed to win on Haven.

For this opening match of Champions Paris, Paper Rex opened with a double Duelist look on Bind, while XLG opted for double Smokers. PRX claimed the pistol, but XLG surprised early, moving ahead 3–1. Even when PRX dipped into an eco, they found ways to break XLG’s momentum. The first half stayed tight and finished 6–6, with Wang Jing "Jinggg" Jie sitting at 11/3 K/D by Round 8 and both Lifan "Viva" Ran and Ilya “something” Petrov producing momentum swinging 4K clutches. After the side swap, PRX applied steady pressure, carved out a small lead, and earned three map points at 12–9 before closing it out 13–9 shaky at the start, then a steamroller once their individuals came online.

This time, XLG switched to a double Duelist Neon/Yoru on Sunset, while PRX played a double Smoker core with Viper and Omen. PRX won the defensive pistol and converted the second, dropped the bonus, then re-asserted control. A late 1v1 nearly went PRX’s way when Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto attempted a desperate defuse, but the spike explodes with 0.02 on the clock; even so, PRX reached half-time up 8–4 before swapping to attack. On the second-half pistol, f0rsakeN delivered four crisp headshots, PRX captured three of the four gun rounds, and something produced the tournament’s first ace. The result was a clear 13–5 to seal a 2–0 series, not a weak XLG, but a sharp, incisive PRX in the key moments.

For the second Best of 3, Sentinels picked Corrode for the first map. The lineups mirrored each other except on Duelists: GIANTX ran Hanceriuc “Ara” Eduard-George on Yoru while Sentinels put Zachary “zekken” Patrone on Neon. GX struck first on pistol and started 3–1, but Sentinels answered by ramping up mid-aggression to erase the gap. The half levelled at 6–6, and Sentinels pushed through the finish with a Neon masterclass from zekken to take the opener.

On Sunset, compositions were again similar, with Initiators diverging Kirill “Cloud” Nehozhin on Sova for GIANTX and Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey on Fade for SEN. Ara set the tone with a pistol-round triple. Sentinels briefly responded (including an eco round), then GX answered right back with a sheriff eco of their own. As SEN slowed the tempo to take space late in rounds, GIANTX used layered utility to punish the waits, storming to a 10–2 defensive half. SEN woke up slightly after the swap, but Cloud closed the door with a 23/9/5 performance. GIANTX equalized the series with a massive 13–4.

For the decider map, Haven, Sentinels started hot with pistol, anti-eco, and a well-managed bonus for 3–0 with N4RRATE opening his account with a clean 3K. The run stretched to 6–0 before GIANTX strung together four straight to stabilize. A pivotal 1v3 from zekken delivered SEN’s seventh, and they carried an 8–4 lead into half-time. After the switch, GIANTX mounted a disciplined comeback to 8–8, then kept up the pressure on attack to edge ahead and close the series 13–9. The win sends GIANTX to face Paper Rex, while Sentinels drop into an elimination match against XLG in this group A.