Cloud9 White has finally had their long Game Changers main event winning streak halted after Shopify Rebellion defeated them in a 2–1 VALORANT victory in the upper bracket of the NA VCT Game Changers series two tournament.
Shopify Rebellion, who changed up their roster this tournament to include veteran esports player Benita “bENITA” Novshadian, have finally done what every Game Changers team has been aiming to do since C9 White became an unstoppable contender in the circuit; Shopify Rebels were able to pull out a victory from behind in the third map of their upper bracket match.
On Ascent, C9 looked as dominant as they have been for the past year and a half, winning the map 13–7, and breaking the 9–3 curse that many players have come to believe is real. In the second map on Fracture, the tides started turning and the Rebellion started picking up steam and taking rounds off of C9. They ended Fracture 13–7 in favor of Rebellion, and moved to map three on Bind.
The 9–3 curse turned out to be real for C9 White in map three. The half ended with the cursed score and C9 White on track to take the win and move on to the next upper bracket match, but Shopify Rebellion did not give up, and after the half only allowed C9 White two maps in the entire second half of the match.
With a score of 11–8 in the 19th round of Bind, Shopify Rebellion found their stride and took the next five rounds to secure the first ever victory over C9 White in a Game Changers tournament to date.
Shopify Rebellion will now move to the next upper bracket match, while C9 White will have to fight their way back up to the VALORANT grand final in the lower bracket—now a familiar feeling after C9 White’s run in the lower bracket during open qualifiers.
The next upper bracket match takes place July 8: Shopify Rebellion will take on TSM X for the first spot in the grand final. C9 White move to the lower bracket and face the winner of Sanri-O’s vs Dart Monkeys. They will need to win another two matches to get back to the grand final match.
