Paper Rex Face LOUD as Valorant Champions Shanghai Playoff Bracket Is Set
T1 and LOUD won Sunday's deciders to complete the final eight in Shanghai, and d4v41's Paper Rex now open the playoffs against LOUD on Wednesday.
The group stage of Valorant Champions 2026 in Shanghai is over, and the eight-team playoff bracket is locked in. Two decider matches on Sunday, 4 October, settled the last places, and the draw that followed handed Paper Rex, the team of Malaysian star d4v41, an opening clash with Brazil's LOUD.
The playoffs begin on Wednesday, 7 October, at the Jing'an Sports Center. The final weekend moves to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Pudong, with the grand final on 18 October.
Sunday's deciders: T1 and LOUD survive
Sunday decided the second qualifier in Groups A and B.
- T1 2-0 FUT Esports (Group A): The Korean side won both maps 13-10, on Sunset and then on Ascent. T1 had lost their opener 0-2 to 100 Thieves and needed the lower route, beating JD Gaming 2-1 before this win.
- LOUD 2-0 Global Esports (Group B): LOUD won Split 13-8 and Sunset 13-9, with erde leading the scoreboard for the Brazilians. LOUD had beaten EDward Gaming 2-0 before losing 0-2 to Team Vitality.
Global Esports and FUT were eliminated, along with Team Liquid, Karmine Corp, TYLOO, EDward Gaming, JD Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming. With all four Chinese teams out, the host region has no team left in the playoffs.
The full playoff bracket
Riot drew the group winners and runners-up into the bracket at random, with each group winner facing a runner-up. The upper-bracket quarter-finals are:
- Wednesday, 7 October: NRG vs T1, then Paper Rex vs LOUD
- Thursday, 8 October: 100 Thieves vs G2 Esports, then Team Vitality vs Nongshim RedForce
The playoffs are double elimination, so a quarter-final loss does not end a team's run. Every series is best-of-three except the lower-bracket final and the grand final, which are best-of-five.
How Paper Rex got here
Paper Rex won Group C without dropping a series. They opened with a 2-1 win over Team Liquid on 24 September, then came back to beat G2 Esports 2-1 on 29 September to take top spot. G2 later beat Liquid 2-0 to claim the group's second place.
As a group winner, Paper Rex were drawn against one of the runners-up, and they got LOUD. It is a tough opener. LOUD only lost to Vitality in the group stage and looked sharp in Sunday's decider.
Pacific hopes
Three Pacific teams are still alive: Paper Rex, T1 and Nongshim RedForce. No Pacific team has ever won Champions. The Americas league has four teams through (100 Thieves, NRG, G2 and LOUD), and defending champions NRG start against T1.
For Malaysian fans, Wednesday's second match is the one to watch. VLR.gg listings put Paper Rex vs LOUD in the evening, Malaysian time, after NRG vs T1.
What's at stake
The prize pool is US$2.25 million, with US$1 million for the champions and US$400,000 for the runners-up. This is also the last Champions of Valorant's franchise era, so every team in the final eight is playing for a place in history.
Key takeaways
- T1 (2-0 vs FUT) and LOUD (2-0 vs Global Esports) won Sunday's deciders to complete the playoff field.
- Paper Rex, with Malaysia's d4v41, play LOUD in the upper-bracket quarter-finals on Wednesday, 7 October.
- The other quarter-finals: NRG vs T1, 100 Thieves vs G2, and Vitality vs Nongshim RedForce.
- No Chinese team made the playoffs at their home Champions.
- The grand final is on 18 October at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Shanghai.
FAQ
When do Paper Rex play next at Valorant Champions? Paper Rex face LOUD on Wednesday, 7 October, in the second upper-bracket quarter-final of the day, after NRG vs T1.
Are Paper Rex out if they lose to LOUD? No. The playoffs are double elimination, so the loser of an upper-bracket quarter-final drops into the lower bracket.
How much do the Valorant Champions 2026 winners get? The champions take US$1 million from the US$2.25 million prize pool.
Sources: VLR.gg, Hotspawn, esports.gg, Dot Esports