The 2025 Valorant Champions tournament is nearing its conclusion with the playoffs set to begin soon.
The group stage of the ongoing Champions League tournament has concluded, and the remaining eight teams have advanced to the playoffs. With only one team being able to win the whole thing, each of these top Valorant teams will put it all on the line to claim victory. Here are all of the teams that remain, when each remaining match will occur, and the favorites to be crowned this year’s champions.
| Event | 2025 Valorant Champions playoffs |
|---|---|
| Start date | September 25, 2025 |
| End date | October 5, 2025 |
| Teams | 8 |
16 teams managed to qualify for Champions after much hard work in their regional tournaments and the international events held throughout the year. But eight of those teams were instantly knocked out in the group stage, including such favorites as T1 and Sentinels.
Now, the remaining eight teams will fight to determine which deserves to stand at the top. While most matches will be conducted in a best-of-three format, the lower bracket final and grand final will both be best-of-five matches. The overall tournament structure will be fairly familiar to other recent international Valorant tournaments, ensuring things are straightforward for fans following along at home.
Fnatic (X/Twitter)
The 2025 Valorant Champions playoffs will kick off on September 25, 2025, at 9 AM EST.
After the first match, players will see at least one match being conducted every day until Monday, which is September 29. Things will resume on Friday, October 3, when the daily matches will resume. The 2025 Valorant Champions playoffs grand final will start on October 5, 2025, at 7 AM EST.
Valorant odds as of October 1 at 2:42 PM EST.
Paper Rex, Team Heretics, and Fnatic are the favorites to win the 2025 Champions tournament, though there’s a strong chance that MIBR could create an upset.
Paper Rex shocked many by winning the recent 2025 Valorant Masters Toronto, showcasing great skill and finesse. The team beat Fnatic in the final there, the other standing as a strong favorite to win the 2025 Champions event. Fnatic was absolutely dominant in the Masters Toronto playoffs before being stopped by PRX. Fnatic then went on to give an extremely strong showing in the 2025 Esports World Cup before narrowly losing to Team Heretics, a squad that has also attracted much attention thanks to its recent strength on stage.
Paper Rex (X/Twitter)
These three teams, alongside NRG, went undefeated in the group stage, which likely instilled that much more confidence among their fans. But while these teams have already shown their talent at the international level, MIBR’s sudden improvement may threaten the more predictable outcomes. The South American team has made great strides recently, even giving Fnatic a run for its money in the event’s group stage. If it continues to gain confidence and improve on its performance throughout the tournament, fans could potentially see the team take home the win as a dark horse.
NRG vs GIANTX, Fnatic vs DRX, and Team Heretics vs MIBR all have potential high-return bets available:
More Valorant betting opportunities will arise as the playoffs proceed and the lower bracket opens up in what is the biggest Valorant tournament of the year.
Feature image credits: Riot Games
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
