The 2025 VALORANT Champions tournament is set to kick off on Sept. 12, and with it comes the Pick’ems event, offering exclusive rewards to add to your collection.
Whether you’re a long-time VALORANT esports fan or a first-time watcher, our VCT Pick’ems 2025 guide will walk you through the participation process and help inform your picks with insights on past performances, meta shifts, and key trends. After all, you don’t want to miss out on the cute accessories you can earn by getting most—if not all—of your guesses correct.
How to play VCT Champions Pick’ems 2025
Every year, Riot Games hosts an in-game Pick’ems event for VALORANT Champions, letting players predict the outcomes of matchups between participating teams.
The group stage of VALORANT Champions Paris has now ended after hosting a bunch of unpredictable matchups, leading to the promotion of eight teams to the playoffs:
- G2 Esports (Americas)
- NRG (Americas)
- MIBR (Americas)
- Team Heretics (EMEA)
- GiantX (EMEA)
- FNATIC (EMEA)
- Paper Rex (APAC)
- DRX (APAC)
The playoff stage is set to begin soon, so you can now participate in its Pick’ems. You can submit your choices for the playoffs stage Pick’ems by Sept. 25, before the matches start.
To participate in the VCT Champions Playoffs Pick’ems, launch VALORANT, go to the Esports tab, and then select the Pick’ems tab. Here, select “Make Picks” under the Playoffs section—or hit the Get Started button if you didn’t participate earlier.
For playoffs’ Pick’ems, you’ll be choosing the winner and loser of every upper and lower bracket series, starting from round one to the grand finals. That said, this years’ Champions event has been wildly unpredictable. Not a single Pick’em participant managed to get a perfect score for the group stage—so just imagine the luck it’ll take to nail the predictions for the even higher-stakes playoffs. Still, there’s no harm in taking the shot.
All VCT Champions 2025 Pick’em rewards
Here are the rewards you can grab by participating in VALORANT Champions Paris Pick’ems:
- Tejo ¡Eureka! Spray: Make at least one pick in the groups or playoffs stage.
- G.O.A.T. Gun Buddy: Top 50 percent Pick’ems score.
- Golden G.O.A.T. Gun Buddy: Top 20 percent Pick’ems score.
- “100%” Player Title: For perfect picks at the end of the tournament.
If you’ve joined a Faction, check out the exclusive reward you can potentially get when your Faction wins:
- Team TenZ: Pay Respects Gun Buddy
- Team Tarik: Lovebyte Gun Buddy
- Team Sacy: Wayfinder Player Card
- Team Mixwell: Bust A Move Spray
- Team BeyAz: Hang Time Gun Buddy
- Team Helydia: Sick ‘Em Spray
- Team Laz: Bruno Coin Spray
- Team TCK: Knight’s Market Buddy
- Team WiPR: Runnin’ On Empty Spray
- Team ZeratoR: Justice Served Buddy
Now, you may already own some of these items as they aren’t new items—but they’re quite rare. If you’ve already chosen your Faction and want to switch to be eligible for another reward, you can change it from this Pick’ems page until the group stage starts on Sept. 12.
VCT Champions 2025 Playoffs Pick’ems guide and predictions
While it’s impossible to guarantee a perfect score, we think we’ve got most of it right with our Pick’ems, which is based on whatever has happened in Champions Paris so far.
Upper quarterfinals
For the upper quarterfinals, we picked FNATIC, G2 Esports, Team Heretics, and NRG as winners, while DRX, Paper Rex, MIBR, and GiantX get sent to the lower bracket.
G2 entered the tournament as a favorite—and so did Paper Rex. Still, we believe G2 might have the tools to counter PRX’s explosive playstyle effectively, at least in round one. FNATIC against DRX, Team Heretics against MIBR, and NRG against GiantX are relatively easier predictions, although it’s worth noting that anything may happen.
Lower round one
For the first round of the lower bracket, we picked PRX (over DRX) and GX (over MIBR) as winners based on their performance in this tournament and throughout the VCT 2025 season.
Upper semifinals
For this stage, we chose G2 Esports (over FNC) and Team Heretics (over NRG).
Lower round two
For this elimination bracket, we expect PRX (over NRG) and GX (over FNATIC) to advance to the next round.
Upper final
The winner of this series will be the first seed of the grand finals.
Considering their recent head-to-head in the group stage, Team Heretics may triumph G2 Esports for the second time this tournament. That said, it’s more likely that G2 has learnt from their mistakes in that series, so we’d choose the American favorites for this one.
Lower round three
For the third elimination round, we picked PRX as winners over GiantX.
Lower final
This will be the first best-of-five series of the tournament, making it harder to predict. More than who’s stronger, the team with the highest adapting potential is expected to make it past this high-stakes matchup to the grand finals.
As a team carrying the second-highest Global Power ranking for Champions, Paper Rex is most likely to emerge victorious out of this series.
Grand final
Another best-of-five series, this game—scheduled for Oct. 5—is the final step toward lifting the trophy and earning the title of global VALORANT champions. And with two of the best teams in the world battling for glory, predicting the outcome feels almost impossible.
Still, we’re backing Paper Rex to claim the VCT 2025 crown. Their incredible form this year—highlighted by a thrilling run at Masters Toronto— proves they have what it takes. That said, G2, as the 3peat champions of regional tournaments this season, won’t give up their throne without a fight.
While these picks are based on performances and trends, VCT teams are famous for their Cinderella runs and unpredictability in international stages, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my votes miss the mark. It might be wise to use your own instincts for the VALORANT Champions Pick’ems: Who knows, you may have a knack for spotting dark horses.
