LOUD is the last team to qualify for VALORANT Champions, nightmare scenario for Leviatán

LOUD will compete at VALORANT Champions 2026. Following their 3-2 victory over NRG in the lower bracket final this Saturday, the Brazilian team qualified for the VCT Americas Stage 2 grand final, securing the final Champions qualification spot in the process. All sixteen teams set to compete in the final major tournament of the 2026 season are now known. LOUD will look to claim their first VCT title since the 2023 VCT Americas League this Sunday.

To say that the 2022 Champions winners have earned their place would be an understatement. Having seen their status decline over the past few years, the team had been lingering near the bottom of the league standings for several splits. While they were not expected to make much of an impact in such a competitive league, LOUD fought their way through the lower bracket by defeating Made In Brazil (MIBR), G2 Esports, and NRG, with their young talents Lucca “lukxo” Travaioli and Roberto “erde” Lobos delivering impressive performances along the way.

On the other side, NRG, who entered the competition as the favorites after an outstanding start to Stage 2, endured a difficult final weekend. Having been defeated by 100 Thieves the previous day, the 2025 world champions had an opportunity to bounce back against LOUD, but quickly found themselves trailing 2-0 in the series. Despite mounting a strong comeback, the team were unable to complete the reverse sweep, suffering a heavy defeat on the final map. Following the match, NRG Duelist Adam “mada” Pampuch revealed that he had required medical attention during Game 5, which significantly affected his team’s performance.

Eliminated last week following their defeat to G2 Esports, Leviatán still had a strong chance of qualifying for Champions, but the pieces simply failed to fall into place for the Argentine team. They needed a scenario other than a 100 Thieves - LOUD grand final to unfold, but both teams were in too strong a form this weekend, while neither G2 Esports nor NRG managed to stop them. As a result, despite their victory at Masters London, Leviatán will not compete at Champions.

This marks the first time in VCT history that a Masters winner will fail to qualify for Champions in the same season. While it can certainly be argued that Leviatán should have handled Stage 2 better, it is nonetheless disappointing not to see such a competitive team at the most prestigious tournament of the season. The team will likely rue their failure to show up when it mattered most during the playoffs.