Aspas to miss Champions for the first time since 2022

Gabriel “aspas” Santos will miss VALORANT Champions for the first time since making his international debut in 2022. The MIBR Duelist was eliminated from the VCT Americas Stage 2 playoffs after his team fell to LOUD on Sunday, August 30, ending a four-year streak of appearances at the most prestigious tournament of the VALORANT competitive calendar.

Aspas first reached an international event with LOUD in 2022 and has qualified for every edition of Champions since then. The Brazilian super star lifted the trophy in Istanbul with LOUD in his debut season and went on to finish among the top three in each of the following two editions before his streak came to an end in 2026. Prior to that, he had finished on the podium three times, including one victory and a top-5 or top-6 finish.

The Brazilian's Champions history began in 2022, when he represented LOUD at Champions Istanbul. The team went all the way through the lower bracket and defeated OpTic Gaming in the Grand Final, with aspas becoming a world champion in his first international season. In that final, he cemented his status as the event's MVP, a personnal trophy that propelled him to a whole new level of popularity.

In 2023, still playing for LOUD, aspas returned to Champions and reached the semifinals, where LOUD were eliminated by Evil Geniuses. The Brazilian Duelist finished the tournament in third place.

The player moved to LEVIATÁN in 2024 and maintained his presence at the international championship. The team reached the semifinals once again at Champions Seoul, finishing the tournament in third place after being eliminated by eventual champions Edward Gaming.

In 2025, aspas joined MIBR and once again secured a spot at VALORANT Champions Paris. MIBR finished the tournament in fifth-sixth place, marking the fourth consecutive year in which the Brazilian player competed at the world championship.

The series began on Lotus, MIBR's map pick. The Brazilian team managed to keep the game close throughout the map, but LOUD ultimately took control in the decisive rounds to secure a 13-10 victory and move one map away from eliminating MIBR from the playoffs.

On Sunset, LOUD's map pick, MIBR once again put up a strong fight, but the result was the same. LOUD closed out another 13-10 win to complete the 2-0 sweep and eliminate MIBR from the VCT Americas Stage 2 playoffs.