VALORANT Champions Paris has been a rollercoaster experience so far, with most matchups either defying expectations or ending in a close result. Despite all the unpredictability, fans think one series can be crowned as the tournament’s “best so far”—and we can’t agree more.
Some time after day one of playoffs ended, a Redditor posted a snapshot—first uploaded by G2 VALORANT’s handle on X—highlighting the nail-biting results in the three VALORANT maps played during the Paper Rex (PRX) vs. G2 Esports series. They proceeded to call it the best face-off in VCT Champions Paris so far, attracting several upvotes from the community.
From thrilling clutches and strategy wars to one-sided rounds and mind-blowing display of mechanical brilliance, the opening series of playoffs had everything a fan could ask for.
The first game of the series, played on Lotus, ended in a 13-11 after PRX managed to stop G2’s momentum in the second half, winning three back-to-back rounds. The second game on Corrode saw a lot of back-and-forth before ending up in overtime. In the end, however, G2’s resilience put a stop to PRX’s headstrong style at 15-13, preventing the latter from taking a 2-0 win.
The third and final game was played on Ascent, which ended up in a 13-11 in PRX’s favor, giving them the ultimate series win.
The matchup lived up to the hype, delivering close encounters, strategy diffs, and showcases of impressive headshots and outplays—everything you’d expect from a clash between the number one seeds of Americas and APAC.
While PRX vs. G2 has been hailed as the highlight matchup of VALORANT Champions Paris so far, fans also highlighted the grand finals of Masters Bangkok between T1 and G2 Esports as the season’s biggest thriller. That series ended in a 3-2 scoreline in T1’s favor after a number of seesaw games, two of which reached overtime.
Going forward in Champions Paris, there are plenty of exciting face-offs to anticipate, but I’m most excited about Paper Rex taking on Fnatic in the upper semis. No matter the outcome, the headline of this series will be how Fnatic’s former star coach, mini, is now fueling PRX’s success. Talk about betrayal stinging, am I right?
And I can’t help but think about a potential grand finals rematch between PRX and G2 in VALORANT Champions Paris—provided G2 manages to stay alive in the high stakes lower bracket. If an opening upper round clash between them can be this good, just think of what can unfold on the most prestigious stage of the year.
