VALORANT – GC Championship: SR suffers its first loss in GCC since 2023, TL advances to the grand final

This new day of competition at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2025 in Seoul brought the lower bracket back to the forefront. With Team Liquid Brazil already having secured their place in the grand final, Shopify Rebellion Gold and Team Liquid Brazil opened the day with a closely contested best-of-three, before Made in Brazil (MIBR) later met KRÜ Blaze in a do-or-die series to determine Shopify’s final opponent in the lower final, with a spot in the title match against TL on the line.

In the clash between Shopify Rebellion Gold and Team Liquid Brazil, the North American side showed some of the weaknesses that have only recently begun to surface, and they paid for them in this series. They first lost 14–12 in overtime on Haven, then levelled the series by winning 13–10 on the second map. But after two tightly contested maps, the Brazilians managed to take control of the decider, closing it out 13–7 and sending Shopify to the lower bracket for the first time at GCC since 2023.

Natalia "daiki" Vilela in particular produced a remarkably consistent series, finishing with more than 54 kills and a 1.18 rating, establishing herself as one of the pillars of TL’s success. Her precise and well-timed utility repeatedly allowed Julia "Jelly" Iris to lead the way on entry and clear space. With this victory, Team Liquid secure their place in the grand final, while the 2023/2024 World Champions are pushed into the lower bracket, where they will face the winner of the KRÜ Blaze vs. MIBR GC matchup for a final chance to reach the title match.

In the second series of the day, KRÜ Blaze and MIBR GC met in Lower Round 4 for a best-of-three elimination match. MIBR struck first with a 13–6 win on Pearl, a one-sided map on which KRÜ were under pressure from start to finish. On Bind, KRÜ appeared more stable and better positioned, but it was not enough: MIBR, visibly confident, expressed it both in their gameplay and in their reactions at the end of each round, regularly energising the crowd.

Within that context, a kind of duel within the duel emerged between Caue "dods" Fernandes and Nicolas "srN" Niederauer, as both players traded multi-kills and clutch rounds, ultimately finishing side by side at the top of the scoreboard. With this victory, MIBR earn one more opportunity to extend their run at this Game Changers Championship, but face a substantial challenge: taking on the reigning World Champions in a best-of-five, with a single place in the grand final at stake, where only the stronger team will advance.