With the stakes at their highest, the elimination matches of VALORANT Champions 2025 are delivering hard. In the first match of the day, with both teams’ tournament lives on the line, Team Liquid took down reigning champs EDward Gaming in a gritty 2-1 victory, while Xi Lai Gaming edged out Sentinels to stay alive in similar fashion, causing a major upset, and significantly improving their chances of staying in VCT China, depending on DRG’s results.
Liquid eliminates the VALORANT Champions holders
Team Liquid faced off against EDward Gaming in an elimination match from Group C, and came through in three after dropping the first map. The series was TL’s chance to reverse recent struggles, and they made good on it when it mattered most, taking down 2024’s Champions in a heated series to keep their playoffs hopes alive.
Sunset: EDG win 13-3
EDward Gaming opened the series on their pick and looked dominant. After the halftime break, where EDG had built a commanding lead of 11-1, Liquid could not manage a comeback, and they went down to EDG 13-3. EDG’s defense on Sunset was tight; their utility usage was surgical, closing rounds early and preventing Liquid from getting map control.
Map MVP: The standout of Map 1 was EDG’s star duelist ZmjjKK with an ACS of 358, the highest on the server by far, as well as 22 frags and four first kills. Both nobody and Jieni7 on the initiators were also heavily fragging and trading on this map, making EDG the more cohesive team.
Abyss: Liquid win 13-6
Liquid responded with a clean map of their own, starting on the attacking side. On their pick, they took the first half with a comfortable lead of 9-3, with nAts on Cypher having 22 kills in just the first half, and they also then held strong after the side switch. Liquid rotated well, punished early peeks, and used their utility more cohesively. NAts would not let EDG enter site, and on attack, maintained map control and consistently caught EDG on rotates. Their win on this map of 13-6 pushed Liquid and EDG to a map three.
Map MVP: TL’s nAts stepped up big — his kill/death spread improved sharply over Map 1, he recorded multiple multi-kill rounds, and ACS surged. While precise FKPR data is thinner here, his involvement in opening kills and clutch rounds was regularly highlighted in commentary and stat summaries.
Map 3 — Bind (Liquid win 15-13)
The final map was a thriller. Both teams traded early rounds and defenses; at halftime, neiter had a runaway lead. Post-side swap, Liquid managed to eke out rounds that mattered: post-plant scenarios, retakes, and clutch fights. Despite EDG mounting pressure in late rounds, Liquid held on to win 15-13.
Map MVP: The match MVP came from Liquid’s roster: a player who showed up particularly in the final map with high FKPR and favorable K/D, anchored by a strong ACS: nAts. His ability to win crucial rounds and maintain composure under pressure made him the deciding factor.
Series MVP – nAts
With performances across Maps 2 and 3, the distinction goes to Liquid’s clutch performer and IGL nAts — not just winning the final map but turning around momentum after a brutal Map 1. NAts on the Viper and Cypher was a factor in Liquid being able to consistently shut down rotations off his lurks and positioning. Across the series, he had an ACS of 249, 60 frags, and an ADR of 160.
Sentinels sent packing in XLG upset
Over in the Group A elimination game, Sentinels and Xi Lai Gaming (XLG) battled in a Bo3 with both teams staring down an early exit. XLG dug deep and pulled off the upset, eliminating Sentinels 2-1 to extend their Champions run. This also puts pressure on DRG, the other Chinese team in VCT China from Ascension, to win their match against G2 today.
Abyss: SEN win 13-10
XLG picked Abyss as their map, but it was Sentinels who opened strong on their attacking side, taking a 7-5 lead into halftime. The second half saw both teams battle hard, keeping the score line neck and neck; however, Sentinels figured out an optimal retake strategy which let them close out the map 13-10, winning their opponents’ map pick.
The standout was N4RRATE on Omen. He had the highest ACS of 239 on the server, 87% KAST, as well as excellent trades in most rounds, putting him on top of the scoreboard.
Lotus: XLG win 13-11
XLG answered back on Lotus. They started on attack, building up insane momentum that culminated in a 9-3 half, allowing some breathing room going into the second period. However, after the side swap, SEN recovered by winning five rounds in a row to bring the score to 9-8. After a terse back and forth, XLG closed out the map 13-11, denying OT and the possibility of a 2-0 for SEN.
On this map, zekken had the highest ACS and damage on the server, but for XLG, happywei was incredibly clutch, with his strong defensive Cypher setups, as well as his lurks and impeccable map control. He had an ACS of 270, 88% KAST, and four first kills.
Haven: XLG win 13-8
The decider was tight. Both teams were neck and neck, but on their attacking side, XLG pushed ahead to a 7-5 lead at the end of the half. Sentinels had opportunities late in the map, but XLG’s clutch plays, especially the amount of damage NoMan and happywei were inflicting, edged them ahead. The final rounds were tense, but XLG closed it out 13-8, making SEN the second team to be eliminated from Champions 2025.
For the decider, XLG’s trio of NoMan, Rarga, and happywei were the death knell to Sentinels. All three players found consistent multi-kills and were instrumental in shutting down Sentinels and their setups.
Series MVP – happywei
The MVP for XLG across all three maps has to be happywei, who had the best stats on the server by far. Despite playing more defensive/lurk agents like Cypher, Viper, and Omen, he had an ACS of 262, +21 kill differential, and 9 first kills.
With these outcomes, both Team Liquid and Xi Lai Gaming stay alive, while EDward Gaming and Sentinels are now eliminated from Champions 2025, each finishing in the lower bracket. The coming matches will see more elimination rounds; Bilibili Gaming facing RRQ, while G2 and DRG battle in the second series. This will set up the final four decider games of the group stage, and all eyes will be on who can handle the pressure in their final matches as playoffs grow closer.
