Shopify enter with four of the five players who lifted both the 2023 and 2024 Game Changers Championship trophies, with dodonut standing in as the newest member of their dynasty roster. Team Liquid Brazil, meanwhile, have climbed steadily each year: third place in 2022, second place in 2023, and now stand one win away from their first-ever global trophy. Only daiki remains from their 2022 lineup, with Jelly replacing bstrdd this June within the Liquid system.
Image credit: Riot Games
This grand final is not the first collision course between SRG and TL. The two teams faced off in the GCC 2023 grand final, where SRG stunned TL in a legendary five-map series that went the full distance to claim their first championship and leave Liquid devastated. This time, however, circumstances have changed. TL enter from the upper bracket with a double map ban advantage, and their confidence has never been higher after delivering Shopify their first-ever LAN loss in yesterday’s upper final.
As daiki said earlier this week, “In the last GCCs I was confident too, but this time will be different because I already had third and second. There is only first left.”
With TL chasing destiny and SRG looking to cement their dynasty, the stage is set for one of the most anticipated grand finals in Game Changers history.
SRG beats MIBR in the Game Changers Championship lower final
The penultimate day of the Game Changers Championship in Seoul delivered one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire bracket run. With only a single series on the schedule — the lower final between Shopify Rebellion Gold and MIBR GC — all the spotlight was fixed on two teams fighting for survival and for the right to challenge Team Liquid Brazil in tomorrow’s grand final. Before the match began, fans were treated to a lighthearted 2v2 Skirmish showmatch between regional duos from China, Pacific, EMEA, and the Americas, ultimately won by the Pacific representatives, Korean streamer 972 and Singapore’s spicyuuu, who edged out EMEA in the final.
Image credit: Riot Games
But once the fun ended, SRG and MIBR walked on stage knowing only one would stay alive. After a full-strength four-map battle, Shopify Rebellion Gold emerged victorious, ending MIBR’s incredible lower-bracket run and booking a long-awaited grand final rematch against Team Liquid Brazil: two years after they broke TL’s hearts at the 2023 championship.
Pearl: SRG Survive MIBR’s Early Momentum to Take the Opening Map
The series began with Pearl, chosen by SRG, and it came with heavy baggage for MIBR: in their upper-bracket meeting earlier this week, Shopify had demolished them 13–1 on the same map. Both teams stuck to the exact compositions from that encounter, with SRG starting on attack and immediately winning the pistol. Once rifles came out, MIBR were quick to punish, stringing together round after round to build a confident 5–2 lead on the back of strong site anchors and mid-round initiation.
SRG’s timeout stabilized their approach, and their spacing and utility became far more disciplined. They won four of the next five rounds and brought the half back to 6–6, setting up an even second half. Once sides swapped, MIBR’s defensive energy surged — they won the pistol, converted the bonus, and climbed to 10–6. But with the Operator finally in dodonut’s hands, the match turned dramatically. Her relentless opening duels and mechanical confidence cracked open sites again and again, and SRG’s ult cycling became too difficult for MIBR to withstand. Shopify roared through six straight rounds to complete the comeback and close out Pearl 13–11.
Dodonut was central to the turnaround, ending the map with a 296 ACS, 25 kills, and five first kills, dictating the pace of the map from the moment she was fully online.
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Split: MIBR Strike Back With Their Duelists Leading the Charge
MIBR chose Split, their strongest map of the year with a six-match win streak coming into the series. Their confidence was clear from the opening round. Starting on defense with their signature double-duelist, double-controller composition, they won the pistol and stretched their lead to 4–2 with well-coordinated retakes and explosive early-round duelist pressure.
SRG managed to interrupt briefly with a round win, but the rest of the half was entirely MIBR’s domain. Their rotations were sharp, utility layers well-timed, and SRG struggled to break through the choke points. MIBR took the half 9–3, and after winning the second pistol as well, surged ahead to 11–3. Shopify attempted to regain footing, but MIBR’s momentum was overwhelming, and they closed Split 13–6, tying the series 1–1.
The fragging power of srN and bstrdd drove the win: they combined for 39 kills and seven first picks, maintaining pressure and tempo from start to finish.
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Corrode: A Tale of Two Halves as SRG Flip a 0–6 Start Into a Convincing Win
SRG turned next to Corrode, a map on which they had only two losses all year, both against tier two NA Challengers TSM, and one they had already beaten MIBR on earlier in the tournament. But the map began disastrously for them. MIBR’s double-duelist setup overwhelmed the early rounds, and after winning the bonus with a 4K from bstrdd, they stormed to a 6–0 lead.
But just as Pearl had turned around with a timeout, SRG steadied the series again through clean trades and improved retake setups. Shopify answered MIBR with a six-round streak of their own, tying the half at 6–6 and completely defusing MIBR’s early advantage.
SRG won the pistol and antieco to take their first lead of the map at 8–6, and even though MIBR secured their first full-buy round, Shopify surged back immediately. Behind a revived performance from meL, who found crucial mid-round kills and the rest of the team setting up unbreakable post-plants, as well more confident entries from dodonut, SRG rattled off another decisive stretch of winning rounds. They reached 12–7, and from there, closed the map cleanly 13–7, losing only a single round after their early six-round deficit.
IGL meL topped the server with a 251 ACS and 20 kills, while dodonut and alexis trailed narrowly behind with 230+ ACS performances. Shopify also secured all seven of their post-plant situations, a key pillar of the victory.
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Abyss: SRG Close the Series 3–1 After a Scrappy Back-and-Forth
The final map, Abyss, was MIBR’s last hope to stay alive in Seoul. They opened on defense with yet another pistol win, their fifth of the day, and SRG responded with four straight rounds, applying pressure across every lane of the map. MIBR answered with big impact plays from srN’s Operator, helping them slow Shopify’s momentum, but SRG still closed the half with an 8–4 lead after consistent map-wide pressure.
MIBR returned fire at the start of the second half, with sayuri, melissa, and srN each securing 3Ks across multiple rounds to tie and then overtake SRG at 9–8. But Shopify once again showed their ability to stabilize through composure and teamwork. They reclaimed the next three rounds to reach 11–9, lost one, and then struck with a critical thrifty to reach match point. Even when MIBR forced it to 12–11, SRG held firm. With a modest buy of Sheriffs and Stingers, they shut down MIBR’s final attack and took the map 13–11, winning the series 3–1 and advancing to the grand final.
Although srN continued to deliver standout impact for MIBR, the combined efforts of Sarah and dodonut, who accumulated 46 kills and eight first picks between them, were a decisive factor in Shopify’s victory. MIBR won six out of the eight pistols on the map, with two maps being 13-11s, incredibly close. The series MVP was dodonut, who had 85 kills across all four maps, with 18 of them being first kills.
SRG have locked in their third grand final in a row with this lower bracket in, but for the first time, they’ll be approaching it from the lower bracket. As meL said, “Our loss yesterday to MIBR really lit a fire under our asses… If you want the GCC trophy, daiki, come and take it.”
Whether they can overcome another Brazilian squad to lift their third Championship in a row is the question to be answered in tomorrow’s grand final.
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.
