The groups for VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 have been drawn, with 16 qualified teams discovering their opponents for the tournament’s group stage, which starts on September 12th.
The draw took place at the Los Angeles Riot Games Arena following the Americas Stage 2 Grand Final, with Victoria ‘QueenNayru‘ Horsley from Riot’s global competitive team and broadcaster Alex ‘Goldenboy‘ Mendez conducting the proceedings.
Four groups of four teams each will compete in a double-elimination GSL format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the playoffs. The tournament will begin at Les Arènes de Grand Paris Sud in Evry-Courcouronnes before concluding at the Accor Arena in October.
Tournament Format and Schedule
VALORANT Champions 2025 will run from September 12th to October 5th. The group stage will take place from September 12th-22nd, followed by playoffs from September 25th to October 5th.
All group stage matches will be best-of-three, with teams battling through the double-elimination format for one of eight playoff spots. The playoffs will feature a double-elimination bracket, with best-of-three matches throughout, except for the Lower Bracket Final and Grand Final, which will be best-of-five.
Group Stage Draw Results
The draw process sorted teams into four pools based on regional seedings, with championship points determining the third and fourth slots from each region. Teams from the same region were prevented from being placed in the same group, leading to several adjustments during the live draw.
Group A consists of Paper Rex, GIANTX, Sentinels and XLG Esports. During the draw, Sentinels had to be shifted from its initial placement due to regional conflicts with other Americas teams, requiring multiple position swaps to create a valid group configuration.
Group B features Bilibili Gaming, Rex Regum Qeon, Fnatic and MIBR. RRQ was initially drawn into Group A but was moved to Group B to avoid having two Pacific teams in the same group.
Group C includes Team Liquid, NRG, EDward Gaming and DRX. The placement of DRX was automatically determined as the only remaining valid slot for a Pacific team after other groups were filled.
Group D rounds out the groups with G2 Esports, Dragon Ranger Gaming, T1 and Team Heretics.
Notable Matchups and Regional Distribution
The group stage draw has created several great opening matchups. Group A sees Masters Toronto champions Paper Rex facing teams from three different regions, while Group D features a rematch between G2 Esports and Team Heretics, who have met previously in international competition.
Each group maintains the required regional diversity with one team from Americas, China, EMEA and Pacific. The draw’s complexity was evident when multiple teams had to be repositioned to maintain this balance, particularly affecting the placement of Sentinels and Rex Regum Qeon.
Group C brings together former world champions EDward Gaming alongside Team Liquid, NRG and DRX, creating what many consider a highly competitive bracket. Meanwhile, Group B pairs China’s Bilibili Gaming with Brazil’s MIBR, marking the latter’s return to the world championship stage.
More Details
The 16 teams qualified through a season-long gauntlet across VCT’s four international leagues. The top two teams from each region’s Stage 2 playoffs secured direct qualification, while championship points determined the remaining slots.
This marks VCT’s first event in Paris, with the tournament representing the culmination of the 2025 competitive season. Teams will be competing for the Champions trophy and the title of VALORANT World Champion, with the winner joining an exclusive group of organisations to have lifted the trophy.
The group stage action begins on September 12th, with all matches broadcast on the official VCT channels. The tournament follows the conclusion of regional Stage 2 playoffs, where teams made their final push for qualification or championship points.
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