Aspas back to his best, Boaster fragging at VALORANT Champions

VALORANT Champions Paris Day 4’s opening matches in Group B might have surprised some folks, but the day continued the trend of clean 2-0 wins. Americas’ fourth seed MIBR bulldozed past Bilibili Gaming with commanding performances, while European favorites Fnatic handled Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) with poise over two maps. With this, there will be a break for a day ahead of the next matches of the group stage, which will qualify and eliminate a team each after they conclude.

BLG vs MIBR: Aspas is Ready for Another VALORANT Champions Crown

The first match pitted Bilibili Gaming (BLG) against MIBR, and the Brazilian side came in very sharp, despite their scrappy performance over the last few months. The map veto saw BLG opt to begin the series on Haven while MIBR chose Corrode, a map several teams are leaning into during Champions.

MIBR took map one decisively despite it being their opponent’s pick. Starting on attack, MIBR tied the score up at 2-2 after winning the pistol and then won the next eight rounds. The halftime score was wildly lopsided: MIBR led 10-2. They kept up the pressure in the second half, never letting BLG settle. The final score was 13-2 for MIBR.

MIBR Verno, the team’s IGL and Sova player was the MVP for Haven, putting up 18 kills with 274 ACS, overwhelming BLG with both his aim and timing. Aspas also opened several rounds with strong entries and took a lot of space off the back of the Neon pick.

Corrode was more competitive. BLG fought through with tight defensive rounds early, but MIBR kept their composure. By halftime it was closer — around 7-5 in favor of BLG. However, MIBR’s utility and aggressive mid-round reads won out. They closed the map 13-9.

Aspas was the hero for MIBR on this map with the newest agent Waylay, even finding an ace. He ended with 22 kills and five first kills as well as a 276 ACS. It was a tight call, but the overall MVP of BLG vs MIBR goes to aspas. While Verno was excellent on Haven, aspas’ insane damage across both maps set the tone for the sweep. His entries and consistent presence made it hard for BLG to find footing. BLG must now fight to stay alive in the lower bracket, and their loss means China has gone 0-8 across maps during the Group stage so far.

RRQ vs Fnatic: Fnatic Maintain the Pressure

Later, Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) took on Fnatic in what many expected to be a close contest. However, Fnatic closed out the series 2-0, proving why they’re among the favorites. Fnatic chose Ascent to be the first map of play, while RRQ opted for Abyss, leaving the decider post map bans as Corrode.

On Ascent, RRQ and Fnatic started fairly even, trading rounds. The half ended with Fnatic slightly ahead, at a score of 7-5. In the second half, Fnatic pulled away thanks to strong control on their defensive side over map rotations and they were also consistently pulling off retakes. The final score was 13-10 for Fnatic, making the map competitive but clearly in Fnatic’s control in the late game.

Chronicle playing the Vyse had a strong performance here, dropping 25 kills with an ACS of 295, and four first kills. Both him and Alfajer on the Sage put up an iron-clad defense that RRQ struggled to break through.

On Abyss, Fnatic were more dominant, with their prep showing on the defensive side: every round they won was a retake. Half time saw them slightly behind RRQ at 7-5, but they looked like they could do no wrong on the attacking side. RRQ could not hold at all against the Breach/Waylay combination and FNC won eight straight rounds to take the map 13-7.

Boaster stood out on Abyss, with 24 kills and a +16 kill differential, the highest on the server. His post-plant util as well as impact frags made FNC’s setups on attack un-retakable.

The overall MVP for RRQ vs Fnatic goes to Chronicle. While Boaster was valuable for his calling as well as insane map 2 play, Chronicle’s explosive opening map performance, his ability to anchor sites, and his consistent fragging across both maps tipped the balance in Fnatic’s favor. Alfa was also right behind him in terms of ACS and kill differential.

Qualification and Elimination Imminent

With today’s results, all the opening games of VALORANT Champions Paris have concluded, but all eyes now turn to the qualification and elimination games coming up over the next few days after a break in the schedule.

On Wednesday 17th two critical Winner’s matches take place: Paper Rex vs GIANTX and DRX vs NRG. Both series will decide the first teams from Groups A and C to secure playoff spots. Later in the week, on Thursday  18th, Team Heretics face T1 in the Group D Winners’ match, followed by MIBR vs Fnatic in Group B’s Winners’ bracket. Victory here means a guaranteed top-eight finish.

The tension spikes even higher starting Friday 19th with the first elimination matches. Team Liquid vs EDward Gaming (Group C) and Xi Lai Gaming vs Sentinels (Group A) will see teams fighting to keep their Champions hopes alive. One loss here spells the end of the road and an early exit from Champions Paris.

Finally, Saturday 20th brings two more do-or-die clashes: Bilibili Gaming vs Rex Regum Qeon (Group B) and G2 Esports vs Dragon Ranger Gaming (Group D). With everything on the line, these elimination games promise high drama, as fan-favorite squads and regional hopefuls battle against early exits. For DRG and XLG especially, it will be vital to win this game, as whichever team goes further at Champions will remain in VCT while the other drops to Ascension.

Between qualification hopes for giants like Paper Rex and DRX, and survival struggles for teams like EDG, Liquid, G2, and RRQ, the next four days may prove decisive in crowning the eventual Champions 2025 winner.