Brazilian teams dominate on day 8 of Game Changers Championship Seoul
Zahk
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Day 8 of the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2025 delivered two of the most important matches of the tournament so far: the upper-bracket final between Shopify Rebellion Gold and Team Liquid Brazil, and the lower-bracket elimination match featuring KRÜ Blaze and MIBR GC. By the end of the day, Brazil stood tall, with one team already in the grand final, and another one win away from joining them. With storylines stretching back multiple seasons and rosters that have defined competitive Game Changers for years, day eight brought emotional stakes and standout performances worthy of a championship weekend.
Team Liquid Brazil vs Shopify Rebellion Gold: TL Claim Grand Final Spot in a Statement Victory
The last time Team Liquid Brazil and Shopify Rebellion Gold met on a stage of this magnitude was the Game Changers Championship 2023 Grand Final, a five-map marathon that ended in Shopify’s favor and left TL devastated. Two years later, both rosters entered with only one change apiece — dodonut replacing florescent on SRG, and Jelly replacing bstrdd on TL. With that history looming over the match, this upper final carried the weight of unfinished business.
Haven: TLV Edge Out Shopify in Overtime
The series began on Haven, chosen by Team Liquid, who immediately showed their comfort with sharp defensive retakes and well-structured mid-rounds. After an even opening stretch, TL took firm control of the half, closing it 8–4 behind coordinated utility cycles and disciplined site holds.
But Shopify on defense were an entirely different force. Alexis and Noia locked down long angles and chokepoints with suffocating pressure, while dodonut’s Operator took over key rounds. Their defensive wall brought the map back to 8–8, and momentum swung sharply toward the reigning champions. TL steadied themselves after a timeout and earned map point at 12–9, but SRG refused to fall easily, with Noia’s ace tying the map at 12–12 and forcing overtime.
In the added rounds, TL regained control. A crucial 3K from joojina pushed them once more to map point, and this time, they closed it decisively, taking Haven 14–12. Despite Shopify’s Sarah and Alexis posting the highest individual ACS in the lobby, TL’s cleaner mid-rounding earned them the first map, with bizerra leading the team on Sova with 20 kills and six first picks.
Image credit: Riot Games
Pearl: Shopify Respond Behind Noia’s Brilliance
Shopify selected Pearl, a map that had anchored many of their domestic and tier two wins earlier in the year. Their comfort was evident immediately as SRG surged to a dominant 6–0 start. TL answered with a timeout of their own and clawed back six straight rounds to tie the half 6–6, restoring balance to the match.
The second half opened with Shopify claiming their third pistol of the series, and once again they parlayed that into a four-round streak to reach 10–6. TL stayed alive behind a clutch 4K from daiki, but Shopify maintained composure. They reached map point at 12–7, and although TL fought back to 12–10, SRG closed the map with authority to send the series to a decider.
This map belonged to Noia, who delivered a standout 27-kill performance on Killjoy, finishing with a 287 ACS and +13 differential. Despite daiki’s heroics, TL could not complete the comeback.
Sunset: TL Overpower SRG to Become the First Grand Finalist at Seoul
Everything came down to Sunset, a map TL had only lost once all year. Shopify, by contrast, had produced mixed results on it across both Game Changers and Tier 2 play.
TLV struck early, winning the pistol and surging to leads of 4–1 and then 7–2 behind explosive entries from jelly and sharp calling from daiki. SRG refused to let the map slip entirely, winning the final three rounds of the half with clean post-plant setups to go into halftime trailing just 7–5.
Shopify tied the map after securing their fourth pistol of the series, but once both teams reached full buys, Team Liquid took over completely. Their Viper–Sage backbone combined with relentless pressure from bizerra, Jelly, and daiki suffocated SRG’s attempts to take space. Several rounds came down to tight late-round clutches, but TL were always a step ahead, powering through six consecutive rounds to win Sunset 13–7 and the series 2–1.
Jelly was the standout on Sunset with 20 kills and a 252 ACS performance, while daiki and bizerra also crossed the 220 ACS mark. Across the full series, daiki earned MVP honors for her consistency across three different agents, 54 total kills, and a 226 ACS—matching SRG’s Sarah for the highest across the match.
The victory secures TLV’s spot as the first grand finalist and delivers Shopify’s first-ever LAN loss, a major milestone in Liquid’s journey toward redemption.
Image credit: Riot Games
KRÜ Blaze vs MIBR GC: The All-Brazilian Showdown Ends in a Sweep for MIBR
The second series of the day featured KRÜ Blaze and MIBR GC, both entering on the momentum of elimination wins the previous day. KRÜ had dismantled Karmine Corp, while MIBR pulled off one of the most dramatic comebacks of the event to knock out G2 Gozen. The stakes were enormous: the winner would advance to the lower final for a shot at reaching Championship Sunday.
Pearl: MIBR Dominate KRÜ’s Map Choice
KRÜ opened the series on Pearl, but it was MIBR who struck early with a crisp 4–0 start on attack. KRÜ managed to slow the pace with a defuse win and a brief resurgence, but MIBR’s momentum could only be paused, not stopped. They ended the half with a confident 8–4 lead, supported by proactive space-taking and well-timed utility from sayuri and melissa, with both players also putting up crucial frags.
Although KRÜ stole the second-round anti-eco to reach 9–6, MIBR’s defensive setups proved too rigid to break. Behind stabilizing mid-round calls from Sayuri and consistent fragging across the roster, they strung together four straight rounds to end the map 13–6. KRÜ’s Conir posted an impressive 301 ACS, but MIBR’s trio of sayuri, melissa, and sRN all surpassed 200 ACS, with Sayuri reaching 248 while in-game leading.
Bind: MIBR Complete the Sweep Thanks to sRN’s Dominance
Bind began with MIBR winning their third pistol of the day, and continuing that into a 3–0 lead after securing the bonus. KRÜ responded with a massive thrifty and rode that momentum to a string of five consecutive rounds, taking control of the half. MIBR, however, recovered with three of the final four rounds to send the match into halftime tied 6–6.
The second half swung heavily in MIBR’s favor. They opened with yet another pistol win thanks to a 4K from sRN, who was exceptional throughout the entire map. MIBR converted the bonus as well, fueled by a perfectly timed Showstopper ultimate from sRN, and quickly pushed ahead to 9–6. KRÜ attempted to rebuild with a trio of late-round wins, but MIBR remained composed, winning the last two rounds—including a clinical 1v1 clutch—to close the map 13–9 and secure the 2–0 sweep.
SRN was the clear MVP of both the map and the series, finishing with a 251 ACS, nine first kills, and a +10 differential. Four MIBR players ended the series positive in K/D; none of KRÜ’s players managed the same, marking a difficult end to their otherwise strong event where they finally broke the 5th/6th place curse.
Image credit: Riot Games
What Comes Next at the Game Changers Championship
With their emphatic sweep, MIBR GC advance to the lower final, where they will challenge Shopify Rebellion Gold in a best-of-five series. The winner will move on to face Team Liquid Brazil in Sunday’s grand final. For the first time in Game Changers Championship history, the entire top three consists of only Americas-region teams, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion in Seoul.
Zahk plays and watches a lot of video games, especially Valorant, when she’s home, and travels the world the rest of the time, usually a book in hand. She loves telling stories, coffee, and living life like an adventure.
