Following the VALORANT Champions 2025 Grand Final today, VCT Americas team NRG has claimed this year’s World Champion title.
For VCT rookie Adam ‘mada’ Pampuch, it is an incredible feat to lift the heaviest trophy in VALORANT esports within his first year in tier-1.
“It wasn’t easy to get to where I am today,” admitted the duelist player in the post-match conference.
Mada is one of three rookies currently signed to NRG’s VALORANT roster. Starting out as a Counter-Strike player, he transitioned to Riot’s new FPS title in 2020.
“I was 16, I was seeing all my friends from Counter-Strike. It was leaf, Asuna, penny, me in Counter-Strike when we were all 16. And all three of them just had so much success when they swapped to VALORA […] They all went to internationals, everything. And I just had to sit there and kinda wonder ‘why not me?,” admitted mada after today’s match.
After competing in tier-2 for teams like Luminosity Gaming and Moist x Shopify, mada was signed to VCT Americas Partner Team NRG ahead of the 2025 season. He joined NRG veterans, Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta and Sam ‘s0m’ Oh, as well as 2023 Champions winner Ethan ‘Ethan’ Arnold.
However, the season didn’t commence as hoped for the new roster. At both VCT Kickoff and Stage 1, NRG couldn’t qualify for an international event. The aftermath saw additional roster changes and the retirement of FNS.
Only through its miracle run in Stage 2 did the team earn a spot at VALORANT Champions.
Although the Stage 2 result was impressive, NRG still wasn’t considered a favourite for the biggest annual tournament in the game. Regional giants like G2 Esports and previous Masters winners, such as Paper Rex and Fnatic, were expected to make far deeper runs.
Against all odds, though, the dark horse once again persevered. With a flawless match record in Paris and a 3-2 victory over Grand Finalist Fnatic, NRG claimed the trophy.
In the press conference afterwards, mada revealed what helped him score this achievement: “At a certain point, you kind gotta stop blaming the world, blaming like ‘Why is it not me? Why is it not my time?
“You just gotta work. You put in patience, and everything is possible. Now, we’re World Champions.”
Mada Thanks His Team & Family
Throughout the five maps of the Grand Final, mada played five different duelists. However, his agent pool wasn’t always this diverse. The rookie explained that one of his former coaches played a major role in encouraging him to branch out.
“But then down the line, it becomes very easy with bonkar (NRG Head Coach) on the team because he constantly reinforces all the good things that you do on an agent, constantly tells you to keep playing your own game, and that kinda just lets me do whatever I want on an agent,” added the player.
In addition to the support mada has received from his team, the dueist expert is grateful for his parents’ open-mindedness towards his career in esports.
“There was a lot of hard conversations with my parents. But as soon as they saw the passion I had for it, they started understanding. So, I love my parents for that,” said mada.
The post ‘’You put in patience and everything is possible’’: NRG mada on his journey to win VALORANT Champions 2025 appeared first on Esports Insider.
