VALORANT - Champions 2025: The 2024 champions fall, DRX upset Team Liquid

Day 2 of the VALORANT Champions in Paris set the tone for a ruthless group stage, with momentum swinging wildly, eco rounds cracking open maps and clutch after clutch reshaping expectations. In Group C, NRG shook the bracket by toppling the reigning champions, EDward Gaming, with fearless entries from Adam "Mada" Pampuch and late-round poise from Sam "s0m" Oh. Right after, DRX swept Team Liquid with structure and patience, backed by Myeong-kwan "MaKo" Kim’s elite mid-round calling. The evolving meta on Abyss and Corrode rewarded decisive pacing, layered utility and clean post-plant discipline, and the best teams delivered exactly that. If Day 1 set out the stakes, then Day 2 proved that no one is safe and that every mistake will be punished.

In this Edward Gaming versus NRG at Champions 2025 (Group C), Abyss turned into a thriller. EDG started off strong with their pick, accelerating rapidly and digging a deep hole up to 11–2 by relying on a very direct setup Yoru for Yongkang “ZmjjKK” Zheng, Neon for Juntai “Jieni7” Zhang for impact. But NRG refused to go down without a fight, Sam “s0m” Oh locked down the space at Harbor, Ethan "Ethan" Arnold stabilized the mid-rounds in the role of KAY/O, and Adam “mada” Pampuch on Yoru multiplied the openings at the right moment to chip away round after round. The American defence wins key duels, turns the economy around, and pushes into overtime, where discipline at the end of the round makes the difference. 17–15 for NRG, after a monumental comeback against the defending champions, EDG.

On Corrode, the NRG pick, the match gets even tougher. NA's game plan remains clear: solo Duelist with mada on Waylay, double Controller with s0m on the Harbor and Omen for Ethan. EDG responds blow for blow, and we turn to a deserved 6–6 at the break. The second half is decided by small details: better post-plants, better utility, and a few multi-kills from Logan “skuba” Jenkins to break the Chinese momentum. Despite a high volume of impact from Zhao “Smoggy” Zhang and incisive space grabs from Jieni7, NRG closed the door in crunch time and finished 13–11 for a clean 2–0. EDG now have no choice. They are one loss away from being eliminated from the Paris Champions, and they no longer have a chance to reclaim the Champions title.

DRX's Abyss pick got off to a perfect start for the Koreans, with three rounds cleanly negotiated, before Team Liquid clawed their way back into the game, buoyed by a few narrowly won duels by Georgio “Keiko” Sanassy and a crucial clutch by Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin. But DRX's backbone held up better in the long run, Myeong-kwan “MaKo” Kim controlled the mid-game with his Omen, Cho "Flashback" Min-hyuk activated his Yoru to open up gaps, while Ha-jun “free1ng” No locked down the lurks. Hyunmin “Hyunmin” Song with the Waylay and Ha-bin “BeYN” Kang on Sova complete a well-oiled 5 that stifles retakes. The result: 13-8 for DRX, which is logical given the controlled executions and the pace imposed on the map, in a veto where DRX chose Abyss and Liquid opted for Bind.

On Bind, the TL's pick, the Europeans finally secured their first pistol round of the BO3 thanks to a coordinated push in lamps, with Keiko securing support, then following up when Kamil “kamo” Frąckowiak delivered the expected explosiveness while Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski provided utility. Liquid led 8-6, but DRX's timeout reversed the momentum, MaKo scored a 3K to start the comeback, BeYN read the patterns, and Flashback punished overly timid recon attempts. Despite the efforts of Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko and an incandescent Keiko with a clinical aim sequence. DRX adjusted their post-plants and closed out the map to conclude the series. A 2–0 victory built on discipline at the end of the round, MaKo's versatility and Flashback's consistent impact.

DRX claimed their first win in the 2025 Champions and will face NRG for first place in Group C. For Liquid, there will be no room for error as they must defeat the 2024 world champions, Edward Gaming.