VALORANT - GC Championship: Ninetails and KRÜ Blaze extend their Game Changers Championship run

The fourth day of the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2025 in Seoul marked the beginning of lower-bracket, hosting two win-or-go-home series: a 100% Pacific rematch between Xipto Esports GC and Ninetails, followed by a highly anticipated clash between KRÜ Blaze and GIANTX GC. After two contested BO3s, Ninetails and KRÜ earned the right to further their campaigns, while Xipto and GIANTX bowed out of the tournament.

During this Pacific representatives meeting, Ninetails finally avenged themselves upon Xipto Esports GC with a 2-1 victory, closing the series 13-4 on Pearl, 8-13 on Bind, then 13-5 on Split. The series opened on Pearl, Xipto’s map pick, but it was the side of Ninetails who immediately imposed their pace, wrapping up the map 13–4. Xipto responded on Bind, where the five led by Leanne "grahams" Ti-in finally found their offensive rhythm and secured a 13–8 win to level the BO3.

Everything then came down to Split, where Ninetails reasserted control, the Korean squad tightened their defensive setups and consistently shut down Xipto’s executions to close the map 13–5. Across the three maps, grahams remained Xipto’s main threat with more than fifty kills, while on the Ninetails side, Park "332" Min-ju posted a rating above 1.36 over the series, underlining a solid collective display. With this result, Ninetails remain alive in the tournament and move on to face MIBR GC in Lower Round 2, while Xipto Esports GC are eliminated from the Championship.

The other elimination match saw KRÜ Blaze turn tables, taking home GIANTX GC 2–1 after a BO3 played on Split, Haven and Pearl. KRÜ started strong on Split, their own map pick, overpowering GIANTX 13-3 thanks to a very assertive opening half; Caue "dods" Fernandes delivered an opening map with 363 ACS, driven by an extremely proactive attacking side. GIANTX answered back on Haven, their pick, pushing KRÜ to overtime before edging out a 16-14 win at the end of a defensive marathon, notably sustained by Yağmur "Smurfette" Gündüz and Neslişah "ness" Demir, who kept their team in contention.

The decider on Pearl saw KRÜ find once again the level they had shown early in the series, closing the match with a commanding 13-5. Over the three maps, dods finished with close to seventy kills and 1.36 rating, while on the GIANTX side, Smurfette remained their most prominent player despite the defeat, with around fifty frags across the BO3. With the win, KRÜ Blaze extends their run and advances to the next round of the lower bracket, where they will face Nova Esports GC, while GIANTX GC are out of the competition from the lower bracket.