The knockout stage of the playoffs of VALORANT Champions 2025 continues in the lower bracket, and after today’s games, the top four teams have been crowned. In today’s crucial lower bracket matches, Paper Rex (PRX) eliminated Team Heretics 2–1, while DRX edged over MIBR in another tight three-map series to book their spots in the next elimination round. This means that the two Pacific teams will have to fight each other for a chance at the lower final, while FNC and NRG set up a match in the upper final. For Heretics and MIBR, the road ends here, but PRX and DRX remain alive—and dangerous.
PRX vs Heretics — PRX Redeem Themselves on Lotus and Survive
After PRX’s loss to FNC and Heretics’ loss to MIBR, both teams clashed with elimination on the line. The vetoes had Heretics banning Sunset, PRX banning Haven. Then Heretics picked Ascent, PRX chose Bind, then the bans removed Abyss (Heretics) and Corrode (PRX), leaving Lotus as the decider.
Map 1 — Ascent: PRX win 13–11
The first map was a rollercoaster. Heretics began on attack and established an early lead in the first half, running rounds with aggressive plays from Wo0t on Jett and supporting entries from RieNs on his Sova. At halftime, Heretics led 8–4 thanks to their blistering 5-0 start on their map pick. But PRX fought back post-swap, with d4v41 on Vyse stepping up huge as site anchor. PRX brought the score to 10-10, and Heretics won another round before PRX won the next three, including a clutch play where f0rsakeN secured a 1v1 against Boo to close Ascent 13–11 in PRX’s favor.
Wo0t put up elite numbers: 24 kills, 19 deaths, 3 assists, with an ACS of 282 — among the highest in the match. He forced multiple rounds through aggression and opened fights that kept Heretics in contention. Despite his stats, something and d4v41 were right behind him in terms of numbers and overall Paper Rex looked more coordinated in terms of their attack and with their mid presence.
Map 2 — Bind: Heretics win 13–9
On their opponent’s map, Heretics struck back. While it seemed like a mistake to allow Bind through the map veto, considering PRX’s experience and record on the map, Heretics seemed to have a plan. PRX gained early ground with a 5-1 opening scoreline, but Heretics’ adaptability showed through. At halftime PRX led 7–5.
After the switch, Heretics won the pistol and antieco to tie things up at 7-7 before PRX won two crucial rounds to get to 9-7. However, Heretics won a thrifty, followed by five straight round wins to get to 13-9 and win the map by converting rounds through tight trades and slowing PRX’s momentum. In clutch moments, Wo0t again delivered, this time on the Yoru, closing rounds and denying PRX bonus conversions. The map ended 13–9 in Heretics’ favor
WoOt was once again the standout player for TH. He had 25 frags, a +9 kill differential, and four opening kills. He was the difference maker for Heretics in a lot of crucial rounds.
Map 3 — Lotus: PRX win 13–4
In the decider, PRX asserted dominance, racing off to an incredible lead despite a slow start. Heretics opened well with a 4-1 advantage but PRX recovered in short order, dominating their defense side and consistently finding the opening kill, running a strong proactive execution style. At halftime, they were ahead 8–4, and after the switch they closed with authority, not even losing a single round — a stark contrast to their game versus FNC where they failed to win a single attacking side round. Heretics looked overwhelmed navigating PRX’s retake setups and clean attacks, and control. The map ended with PRX winning in 13–4 fashion, moving on in the bracket while also eliminating Team Heretics from Champions 2025.
The standout player on Lotus was f0rsakeN who posted 14 kills and an ACS of 239 on the map, with PatMen right behind him. He was also the best player on PRX through the series and earned the MVP. With consistency across all three maps, and especially in the decider, he delivered when it mattered most and carried PRX through elimination, ending the series with 53 kills of which 8 were first kills.
MIBR vs DRX — DRX Narrowly Survives
The MIBR vs DRX lower round 2 match was a back-and-forth battle. This series also stretched to 3 maps. While MIBR had lost to NRG to end up in the lower bracket, DRX had fallen to Fnatic and had been fighting their way through the lower bracket. For DRX, if they won, this would be their best placement in the last few years at an international event and the first top four for everyone on the team except MaKo. For MIBR as well as DRX, today was their last chance to stay in Champs.
Map 1 — Sunset: MIBR win 13-10
MIBR opted for Sunset, hoping to leverage their map comfort. The first half had DRX getting off to a blistering start on their defensive side, starting off the map 6-0 before ending the half 9-3. However, MIBR clawed rounds back after the sideswap through clutch plays and positional trades. The comeback was real, with MIBR winning round after round and only losing one defensive side round in the entire game as they won the map 13-10, despite a huge lead for DRX ahead of the sideswap.
Aspas on Neon was a key factor for MIBR’s dominant second half and was responsible for key entries, multi-kills, and clutch rounds that turned tight rounds back in his team’s favor. He had 25 kills, a 5/0 First Kill record, and an ACS of 296, the highest on the server. In contrast, no one on DRX even crossed 200 ACS on this map.
Map 2 — Ascent: DRX win 15-13
DRX selected Ascent for map two and opted for their Waylay/Yoru combo. Starting the map on attack, DRX kept the first half close, with a 4-3 scoreline that concluded with a 7-5 lead for them at the end of the half. MIBR appeared to recover aggressively from the sideswap, but DRX responded with control plays in mid and site holds. The score hit 11-11, then overtime, before DRX were able to finally shut down MIBR and win the map 15-13 to push the series to the decider map.
It was BeYN, freeing, and Flashback versus aspas in terms of who ranked highest on the scoreboard. While aspas played better as an individual, DRX were the ones to keep calm and hold things together.
Map 3 — Bind: DRX win 13-10
DRX sealed the series in the decider. Starting on defense, they found a clean 6-2 start, but after a timeout, MIBR recovered to end the half 6-6, neutralizing DRX’s initial advantage. However, on the attacking side, the double duelist/double controller comp found huge impact and DRX found a 11-6 lead. MIBR tried to come back and got close, but ran out of gas in the tank as DRX won 13-10, eliminating Aspas and MIBR from Champions.
Flashback on Yoru bore the mantle of DRX’s MVP, but all their players had huge individual rounds and were excellent in trading each other. Aspas got close to his 80 kill record from the previous game with 76 frags, of which 18 were first kills, and he once again had the best stats on the server despite ending up on the losing side.
VALORANT Champions – The Final Four
With these results, PRX and DRX move deeper into the lower bracket, keeping their championship dreams alive. The next match in the elimination bracket will be PRX vs DRX, where the loser exits Champs and the winners guarantee a top-three finish. Meanwhile, the upper final pits NRG vs Fnatic to fight for a direct spot in the grand final.
