Team Vitality beat LOUD 2-0 in the Group B winners' match at VALORANT Champions 2026 in Shanghai, a result that sent the European side directly into the tournament's playoffs. Esports.gg reported that it is the first time Vitality have reached the playoff stage at Champions.
Vitality took Ascent 13-7 and closed out Summit 19-17. Vitality banned Abyss and Sunset in the map veto while LOUD banned Haven and Split, and the series turned on LOUD's Summit pick and Vitality's Ascent, leaving Lotus unplayed.
Vitality fielded Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen, Dawid "PROFEK" Święć, Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev, Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov and Ștefan "Sayonara" Mîtcu. LOUD answered with Lucca "lukxo" Travaioli, David "DaviH" Cruz, Sebastián "Darker" Castro Cicuamia, Roberto "erde" Lobos and Enzo "tkzin" Zimiani.
How both sides reached the winners' match
Vitality reached Shanghai after losing to Enterprise Esports and Fire Flux Esports in the EMEA Stage 2 playoffs, dropping both series having taken the opening map in each.
They opened the group with a 2-1 win over Global Esports that went the distance. They took Abyss 13-10, dropped Ascent 9-13, then held Summit 13-11 after leading 12-8 and watching Global Esports close to 12-11. Jamppi led that series with 60 kills and a 244 ACS, and PROFEK added 50 kills and 29 assists.
LOUD arrived at the winners' match after sweeping EDward Gaming 2-0 in their own opener. The Brazilian side finished second at VCT 2026: Americas Stage 2, beating NRG 3-2 in the lower bracket and eliminating MIBR in a result that ended aspas' four-year run of Champions appearances, before losing the grand final to 100 Thieves. Esports.gg reported that LOUD rebuilt the roster over the summer and benched former captain pANcada after a seventh-place finish at Stage 1.
The group and the prize pool
Champions 2026 is the final international event of the VCT season and carries a $2,250,000 prize pool. Group B also contains Global Esports and EDward Gaming.
