The most anticipated opening matchups at Champions Paris

VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions is right around the corner, and excitement for the first tournament in Paris at an all time high. With sixteen of the world's best VALORANT teams facing off for the elusive Champions trophy, here are the most anticipated opening matches from each group to kick off the biggest event of the year.

Paper Rex vs Xi Lai Gaming: aggression vs aggression

The VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025 champions Paper Rex have not skipped a beat since their trophy lift three months ago. The train has continued moving forward, claiming their first regional title of the year at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Pacific Stage 2. Whereas countless teams have faltered after international victories, PRX has only gotten stronger: their coordination continues to improve with newcomer Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza, while Ilya "something" Petrov, the Stage 2 MVP, looks like the best player in the world on Yoru right now with a complete mastery of the agent's kit paired with his deadly aim.

On the other side of the competition, XLG Esports are looking to redeem themselves after going 0-2 in Toronto. Yet, their short stint at Toronto was partly due to the fact that they had an emergency stand-in in Zhang "Midi" Jiajun, who had little time to prepare with the team. Now back at full strength with their new pickup James "NoMan" Man, the VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Pacific Stage 1 champions will be showing what they are fully capable of in this opening match. The Chinese team is just as aggressive as PRX, especially off the back of Arthur "Rarga" Churyumov, the fearsome duelist who always tears through the server. Regardless of who wins, this opening match is set to be an explosive one.

Rex Regum Qeon vs FNATIC: revenge for Toronto

Similar to XLG, Rex Regum Qeon also have a point to prove this tournament, also going 0-2 in Toronto. Poetically, the Indonesian organisation were eliminated by Fnatic at that tournament, and have a chance to knock them down into the lowers in their opening game. For RRQ, this might be seen as a perfect scenario: being able to test their growth after learning from the loss at Toronto against a team as strong as Fnatic, while having a chance to exact their revenge.

Beating Fnatic won't come easy though, as the European powerhouse also have something of their own to prove. Like RRQ, Fnatic are also seeking redemption for Toronto, having lost to Paper Rex in the Grand Final. To claim the trophy that eluded them, expect Fnatic to put up a strong fight. RRQ must epecially watch out for Emir "Alfajer" Ali Beder, the best statistical player at Toronto, who dropped highlight reels on them the last time they faced off. Who could forget his inhuman Chamber 4K on Ascent?

NRG vs EDward Gaming: American rookies against Chinese veterans

NRG have made a dramatic resurgence in Stage 2 following the addition of Logan "skuba" Jenkins and the reintroduction of Malkolm "bonkar" Rench as Head Coach. The team looks completely unrecognizable from the last time they made an international appearance in VCT 2023 - Champions, with Sam "s0m" Oh as the only player from that roster. While he was a rookie in 2023, s0m has transitioned into a veteran presence for the team, allowing the dangerous rookies Adam "mada" Pampuch and Brock "brawk" Somerhalder to wreak havoc on the server. A fresh team on the international stage, NRG have a lot to prove at this Champions.

And who better to prove it against than the reigning world champions EDward Gaming? EDG have a title to defend coming into this Champions, yet the team looks weaker than their 2024 selves without world-class initiator utility from Hsieh "S1Mon" Meng-hsun. All eyes are on this team to see whether they can level up in time to contest for another first place finish. Yet, Champions 2024 MVP Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang can still be relied on to dominate the server, while Wan "CHICHOO" Shunzhi and Wang "nobody" Senxu will continue to drop numbers. The veterans of China can be counted on to hold the line against new North American blood.

G2 vs Team Heretics: a rematch from Shanghai

G2 Esports and Team Heretics famously faced off at VCT 2024 - Masters Shanghai three times, the most encounters two teams have had in a single tournament. Every map the two played each other on was a nailbiter, with iconic moments such as an incredible G2 comeback on Ascent, and Jonah "JonahP" Pulice's 1v4 ace clutch to win the series. Expect yet another match that will leave fans on the edge of their seat with these two juggernauts facing off in their opening game.

G2 are favored coming into this game fresh off a Stage 2 victory, while Heretics couldn't even make it past top 6 in EMEA. Yet, this Heretics roster have been through thick and thin, and have shown that they can turn up when it really matters. Coming into this Champions, both teams are gunning for that trophy: Heretics missed their chance last Champions in a 5-map banger against EDG, while G2 have looked like the most solid team this year, yet the VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Bangkok 2025 trophy slipped through their grasp against T1. Both teams will have to knock each other out to start their path to the trophy on the right foot.

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