NRG’s title defence ended in the lower bracket in Shanghai, where a quiet tournament from skuba and another loss to 100 Thieves capped a season without a trophy.
VALORANT Champions 2026 will crown a new world champion. NRG, who won the title last year, were eliminated in Shanghai on Sunday after a 2-0 loss to 100 Thieves in the second round of the lower bracket.
NRG leave the event in 5th-6th place after losing two of their three playoff series. It is the second time this year that 100 Thieves have stood in their way, after the two teams met in the Esports World Cup final in July.
Overtime on Sunset, a clear win on Haven
Sunset was the only close map of the series. It went to overtime, where 100 Thieves won the final two rounds to take it 14-12. 100 Thieves then won Haven 13-4 to close out the series.
- Sunset: NRG 12-14 100 Thieves (OT)
- Haven: NRG 4-13 100 Thieves
Asuna was the best player on the server with a 1.35 rating and 39 kills across the two maps, according to VLR.gg. All five 100 Thieves players finished with a rating of 1.00 or higher.
The result is 100 Thieves’ second straight lower bracket win. They dropped down after a 2-0 loss to G2 Esports in the upper quarter-finals and beat Nongshim RedForce 2-1 on Friday.
Where NRG fell short
Only two NRG players finished the elimination series with a positive impact. brawk led the team with a 1.11 rating, and keiko posted a 1.01. Behind them, the numbers dropped off quickly:
| Player | Rating | K/D/A | ADR |
|---|---|---|---|
| brawk | 1.11 | 31/31/13 | 150 |
| keiko | 1.01 | 31/31/6 | 142 |
| mada | 0.80 | 27/32/8 | 119 |
| Ethan | 0.75 | 19/33/20 | 114 |
| skuba | 0.71 | 21/34/17 | 74 |
NRG vs 100 Thieves, both maps. Source: VLR.gg
mada died first in 12 rounds and only opened five rounds with a kill, which left NRG playing from a disadvantage in a large part of the series.
skuba’s struggles were not limited to Sunday. Across 12 maps at the event, he averaged a 0.93 rating, a 0.89 K/D ratio and 105.8 ADR. At Champions 2025, when NRG won the title, the same player averaged a 1.09 rating, a 1.17 K/D ratio and 124.9 ADR over 17 maps.
brawk also dipped slightly from a 1.16 rating at Champions 2025 to 1.09 this year. keiko, who replaced Sam ‘s0m’ Oh in November 2025 and is the only change to the title-winning lineup, was NRG’s highest-rated player at the event with 1.12.
How NRG fell to the lower bracket
NRG opened the playoffs with a 2-0 win over T1 in the upper quarter-finals. On Saturday, they lost 2-1 to LOUD in the upper semi-finals.
NRG lost their own map pick, Haven, 9-13 before taking Sunset 13-10. LOUD then won the deciding map, Summit, 13-3.
- Haven: NRG 9-13 LOUD
- Sunset: NRG 13-10 LOUD
- Summit: NRG 3-13 LOUD
No champion has defended the title
NRG’s exit continues a pattern in the history of the event. No team has won VALORANT Champions twice, and only one defending champion has reached the top four the following year.
| Champion | Result at the next Champions |
|---|---|
| Acend (2021) | Did not qualify for 2022 |
| LOUD (2022) | 3rd in 2023 |
| Evil Geniuses (2023) | Did not qualify for 2024 |
| EDward Gaming (2024) | 13th-16th in 2025 |
| NRG (2025) | 5th-6th in 2026 |
Source: Liquipedia
Measured against that history, NRG’s 5th-6th place is the second-best title defence so far, behind only LOUD’s run to third place in 2023.
A season of near misses
The elimination fits the pattern of NRG’s 2026. The team has reached the final stages of almost every event it has played but has not won a trophy since lifting the Champions title in October 2025.
- VCT Americas Kickoff: 3rd
- Masters Santiago: 3rd
- VCT Americas Stage 1: 3rd
- Masters London: 9th-10th
- Esports World Cup: 2nd, lost 3-1 to 100 Thieves in the final
- VCT Americas Stage 2: 3rd
- Champions: 5th-6th
Vitality and LOUD reach the upper final
In Saturday’s other upper semi-final, Team Vitality beat G2 Esports 2-0. Vitality won a close Abyss 13-11 and followed it with a 13-4 win on Split.
G2 stayed alive on Sunday with a 2-1 win over T1 (Lotus 13-11, Abyss 10-13, Ascent 13-6). T1 are out alongside NRG.
Remaining schedule
The playoffs continue on Friday, 16 October:
- Upper final: Team Vitality vs LOUD (Bo3)
- Lower bracket round 3: 100 Thieves vs G2 Esports (Bo3)
The lower final is played on Saturday, 17 October, and the Bo5 grand final follows on Sunday, 18 October, at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. The event has a prize pool of $2,250,000.
