DRX Surprises G2 Esports and Eliminates Them From VALORANT Champions Paris 2025
- Miguel Méndez
- Sep 28
- 2 min read
The most important tournament in professional VALORANT is heating up, and the matches on September 27 produced the first playoff elimination at VALORANT Champions Paris 2025. DRX pulled off an upset against G2 Esports, winning the series 2-1 and sending the VCT Americas champion home.
After a couple of days filled with action, the elimination matches of the Champions playoffs began. DRX entered the series after falling to Fnatic, while G2 Esports lost to Paper Rex on September 25. That set up their clash in the opening round of the lower bracket.
DRX Comeback Against G2 Esports at VALORANT Champions 2025
The series opened on Lotus, where G2 Esports took control on attack thanks to strong performances from Nathan "Leaf" Orf and Jonah "JonahP" Pulice, building an 8−4 lead at the break. DRX tried to narrow the gap in the second half, but it wasn't enough as G2 secured the map 13−7. The Korean squad responded on Abyss, pushing aggressively on attack to edge ahead at halftime. The VCT Americas champion answered with six straight rounds, but DRX held firm to even the series with a 13−10 win.
Everything came down to Bind, where DRX dominated the opening half with a strong defensive showing led by Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan and Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin, taking a commanding 10−2 advantage at the side swap. G2 Esports tried to spark a comeback by securing the pistol round, but the Korean squad shut down any hopes of a rally. Cho "Flashback" Min-hyuk led the final push, sealing the 13−7 win and eliminating the Samurais from the tournament.
G2 Esports Eliminated, DRX Advances in Lower Bracket at VALORANT Champions 2025
G2 Esports says goodbye to VALORANT Champions with a disappointing playoff performance after a solid run in the group stage. The "Samurais" came in as one of the favourites to win the world championship after dominating the VCT Americas season and finishing second at Masters Bangkok and fourth at Masters Toronto.
DRX, meanwhile, stays in the race for the championship and will face Team Heretics in the next lower bracket series, where a loss would mean elimination from VALORANT Champions Paris 2025. Playoff action continues on September 28 with the winners' bracket matches, as Paper Rex takes on Fnatic for a spot in the upper final.
