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.
Right now, the Champions Paris schedule is live for its group stage, so you can now participate in the Pick’ems for the first half of the tournament. You can submit your choices for the group stage Pick’ems by Sept. 12, before the matches start. The playoffs schedule is yet to be determined. According to the timer in the client, playoff Pick’ems will go live on Sept. 22.
To participate in the VCT Pick’ems 2025, launch VALORANT, go to the Esports tab, and then select the Pick’ems tab. Here, select Get Started and then make your picks. There are a total of 16 teams, divided into four groups in the first stage. For each group in Pick’ems, you have to choose two teams to be promoted to the playoffs and two teams to be eliminated.
Additionally, you can also choose to join a Faction from the Pick’ems page in-game. There are 10 Factions for Champions Paris, each led by a popular content creator like Tarik, TenZ, Sacy, Mixwell, and more. The picks you make will directly contribute to your Faction’s progress toward victory. Now, if your Faction makes the most number of correct guesses, your favorite content creator takes the winner’s VCT Pick’ems Belt home, while sharing the honor of the very first “Pick’ems Faction Champions” with you. You also get a special reward for being part of the winning Faction: an in-game item of your leader’s choosing.
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 group stage predictions for Pick’ems
Here are our picks for the group stage of VALORANT Champions Paris:
Group A
- Paper Rex and Sentinels advance to the playoffs.
- GiantX and XLG eliminated.
Paper Rex and Sentinels have displayed dominating performances throughout VCT 2025, and while GiantX and XLG have shown potential in their respective regions, the likely winners of this group on an international stage are clear based on history.
Group B
- Fnatic and Billibilli Gaming advance to the playoffs.
- Rex Regum Qeon and MIBR eliminated.
Fnatic is, again, an obvious pick for a winner in Group B. That said, I was a bit lost while trying to pick the other winner. Given MIBR’s underwhelming run this season, their playoff chances seem slim. RRQ and Billibilli Gaming make for a tougher call, but I’d still give the edge to Billibilli, thanks to their strong run in stage two of VCT China and above-average performance throughout VCT 2025.
Group C
- Team Liquid and EDward Gaming advance to the playoffs.
- NRG and DRX eliminated.
Team Liquid have flourished under nAts’ unique leadership, establishing themself as one of the best—if not the best—EMEA teams this season. They’re definitely the strongest team in this group and should easily make it to the playoffs. NRG’s recent peak in stage two offers some promise, but it’s likely not enough to deal with EDG, who have delivered consistent performances throughout the season. Lastly, DRX has had an underwhelming year so far, so I won’t expect them to make it past the group stage.
Group D
- G2 Esports and Team Heretics advance to the playoffs.
- DRG and T1 eliminated.
G2 Esports scored a “3peat” with their recent stage two win, and considering their form throughout VCT 2025, they’re a sure shot playoff seed. The rest of the teams are a bit too similar for a clear choice, but I’d side with Team Heretics here, considering their overall performance in the season, EWC win, and, of course, their thrilling run in VCT 2024.
While these picks are based on performances and trends, VCT teams are famous for their Cinderella runs in international stages, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of 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.
We’ll update this article once the Pick’ems for the playoffs are live.
