Valorant Champions 2026 concluded in Shanghai with LOUD taking an emphatic 3-1 Grand Final win over Team Vitality to take Valorant’s biggest prize home to Brazil.
The event was the last Tier 1 event of Valorant’s partnership era, as it transitions to a more open model in 2027.
LOUD young guns beat Vitality experience at Valorant Champions 2026
LOUD became the youngest ever roster to win a Valorant Champions title, averaging only 20 years and five months in age.
The exuberance of youth played out in LOUD’s playstyle throughout the Grand Final, as the team’s sharp-shooting and rapid gameplay out-gunned Vitality’s experienced roster.
The Brazilian roster took a closely contested Summit 13-11 to start the contest, recovering from a 3-9 deficit to take the map on the last round of overtime.
Vitality hit back on Lotus, delivering a 13-8 map behind the experienced pair of Timofey ‘Chronicle’ Khromov and Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev.
After Lotus, Vitality seemed as though they would go on to establish their momentum on Sunset, picking up the first four rounds of the contest to continue their run of rounds, but once LOUD got on the board, they ran away with it.
Enzo ‘tkzin’ Zimiani delivered an outstanding 26/10/3 KDA on Sunset, as LOUD went on an 11-round run to blow Vitality away on the map, winning 13-5 and bringing them one map away from glory.
On Haven, LOUD continued their momentum early on the map before Vitality provided a spirted comeback attempt with LOUD on map and Championship points.
In the end, Roberto ‘erde’ Lobos’s 255 ACS performance was enough to bring LOUD over the line 13-10, and landing the young roster their first Champions, and LOUD’s second in organizational history.
erde was awarded the Finals MVP after outstanding performances across Summit, Sunset, and Haven. The 18-year-old revealed that his mother had passed away days before the Grand Final, dedicating the victory to her.
Vitality fall short, but progress shown in tournament run
Ultimately, Vitality did fall a hurdle (or two) short of completing their ultimate goal in Shanghai, but it was a far more positive tournament that what was shown in the rest of the year.
The arrival of Chronicle to the Vitality roster at the beginning of the year signalled a new era for the roster; the era of a superteam.
However, Vitality were not a superteam immediately, or certainly didn’t look like one. They were forced to play Kickoff with a stand-in as they awaited Ștefan ‘Sayonara’ Mîtcu’s 18th birthday, and then spent much of the year struggling to find balance and synergy in the roster once he was added to the team.
Qualifying to Champions only by VCT points, in a pathway entirely out of their own control, Vitality seemed to finally reach some maturity in Shanghai with a truly impressive run that saw them take down Global Esports, LOUD (once), Nongshim RedForce, G2, and 100 Theives.
Still, questions remain for the roster. For example, the decision for Chronicle to play Neon, a Duelist, for the comfort of usual Duelist Derke. That decision was punished by LOUD in the Grand Final, with Chronicle showing a clear lack of experience on the Agent.
So for Vitality, even a successful Champs may lead to roster changes if the meta demands it.
Who were the biggest winners and losers of Valorant Champions Shanghai? Share your thoughts with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
For more Valorant news, see the Valorant Champions Tour 2027 locations. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
More from Darragh Harbinson
Comments