NRG cap off Cinderella run with nail-biting victory against Fnatic at VALORANT Champions

While VALORANT esports has had quite a few sensational neck-to-neck battles, none were close to what fans witnessed today at the grand finals of VCT Champions Paris.

On Oct. 5, NRG faced off against Fnatic in one of the most entertaining VALORANT series the world has seen in a while. And despite the ups and downs throughout this season—and being a team made up of mostly rookies—the North American roster completed their Cinderella run. They lifted the stunning trophy of the year’s most prestigious tournament after beating Fnatic 3-2.

The series was an absolute banger. It started with NRG dominating Fnatic in the first two maps, Corrode and Lotus. In the third map, however, history was made—though not by our champions. Fnatic were down 1-11 in the first half of Abyss. Given the odds, almost every viewer expected NRG to close out the series 3-0 and bag the perfect (and unexpected) win in VALORANT esportshistory.

But then, Fnatic tapped into their trademark comeback power, pulling off an outlandish comeback and securing a dramatic overtime victory. They carried that momentum into the fourth map, Ascent, taking another win to even the series at 2-2 and reigniting massive hope for themselves and fans alike.

In the final map on Sunset, NRG stood their ground to defend their glowing reputation in VALORANT Champions so far, breaking down Fnatic with their aggressive yet calculated attack strategies and closing the first half with a 9-3 lead. This time, however, Fnatic failed to close the gap, letting NRG have the final win after a grueling series. 

Had Fnatic managed to complete the reverse sweep, it’d have gone down as the most iconic comeback in VALORANT esports history so far since 2021. But heading into the tournament, very few expected NRG—a team that had struggled to deliver throughout VCT 2025, undergone major roster changes, and barely made it to Champions—to come this far. 

Besides NRG lifting the trophy, brawk, their initiator and Odin main, was named MVP of VALORANT Champions Paris. This victory also marks Ethan’s second Champions title, his first being with Evil Geniuses in 2023.