Paper Rex defeats Team Liquid 2:1 to open VCT Champions 2026

Paper Rex opened their VALORANT Champions 2026 campaign with a 2:1 series win over Team Liquid, surviving a map pool that did not favor them and a confident opponent fighting through the lower bracket just to be there. The result makes PRX the first winner of the tournament's opening day and an early front-runner in the group stage.

How the two teams arrived here

Paper Rex's road to Champions looked very different from Team Liquid's. PRX is widely considered one of the strongest VALORANT teams in the world and was the first team to lock in qualification for VCT Champions 2026. That early ticket gave them room to breathe during a Stage 2 run that was far from their cleanest — the results dipped, but their place at Champions was already secure.

Team Liquid had no such cushion. They clawed their way through the lower bracket of Stage 2 to reach Champions at all, and by the time the tournament opened they looked like a team in form.

A last-minute twist for Team Liquid

TL's preparation took a hit right before the event: Ognjen "GSR" Bondžić stepped in for Semyon "purp0" Borchev in a late roster change. Adjusting to a new teammate on the biggest stage of the year is one of the hardest asks in competitive VALORANT, and it hung over Liquid's opening match.

What happened on the server

The series went the distance. Team Liquid pushed Paper Rex hard across three maps, and the awkward map pool for PRX gave Liquid real openings. But Paper Rex's experience at the top level showed when it mattered, and they closed the series 2:1 to take the opening-day spotlight.

What's next

Paper Rex move forward in the Champions 2026 group stage with a win already on the board, while Team Liquid drop toward the elimination line with little margin left — a tough spot for a roster still settling around GSR. Their next matches will decide whether either team's tournament unfolds as expected.

Source: the original publisher