LOUD defeated Team Vitality (VIT) 3-1 in the grand final of VALORANT Champions Shanghai to become the first two-time champion in the tournament's history. This marks their return to the top after four years since 2022.
Riot Games, the developer and publisher of 5v5 character-based tactical shooter VALORANT, shared the results of Champions Shanghai, which was held in Shanghai, China from September 24 to October 18. Participating as the Americas second seed, LOUD claimed the championship without losing a single match in the playoffs.
LOUD and Team Vitality faced off three times in total during this tournament. Team Vitality won the Group B Winner's Match in the group stage, but LOUD won the subsequent two encounters. LOUD's single loss in the group stage was their only defeat in the entire tournament. With both teams advancing to the final, a grand final matchup between Americas and EMEA was set for the second consecutive year, following 2025.
LOUD's first Champions title came at the 2022 tournament in Istanbul, Türkiye. At that time, they defeated fellow Americas region team OpTic Gaming 3-1 in the grand final, and they secured this year's championship with the exact same map score. Following roster changes since 2022, LOUD achieved their second title with an entirely different lineup.
All LOUD players who competed in this tournament won Champions in their very first appearance since joining VCT. Roberto Lobos, who was named tournament MVP, fulfilled his promise to dedicate the championship trophy to his mother, who passed away from cancer two days before their opening match against EDward Gaming (EDG).
The Americas region also set a record. All four of its teams competing in the round of 16 passed the group stage to advance to the top 8 playoffs. It is the first time in Champions history that all four teams from a single region made it to the playoffs. With LOUD's victory, the Americas region recorded four total Champions titles.
In Pacific, while first seed Global Esports (GE) was eliminated in the group stage, three teams—Nongshim RedForce (NS), T1, and Paper Rex (PRX)—advanced to the playoffs. However, all three teams were eliminated in the lower bracket, ending their title run.
Nongshim RedForce lost 1-2 to 100 Thieves (100T), and Paper Rex lost 1-2 in their head-to-head match against T1. T1 was also eliminated after losing 1-2 to their next opponent, G2 Esports. The momentum of Pacific teams winning four consecutive Masters tournaments failed to carry over to Champions. The best Champions result for Pacific remains Paper Rex's runner-up finish at the 2023 tournament in Los Angeles.
At the Mercedes-Benz Arena where the final was held, a trailer for the new Agent 'Hush' was unveiled before the match began. Hailing from China, 'Hush' utilizes skills based on telekinesis to rapidly move to desired locations, displace enemy positions, and levitate them into the air. The Agent is scheduled for official release on October 28 (KST).
