LOUD beat Team Vitality 3-1 in Shanghai to become the first two-time Valorant Champions winners
LOUD beat Team Vitality 3-1 in the Valorant Champions Shanghai grand final on 18 October, adding to their 2022 crown. Captain erde was named MVP.
LOUD are Valorant world champions again. On Sunday, 18 October, the Brazilian organisation beat Team Vitality 3-1 in the Valorant Champions Shanghai grand final at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. It is LOUD's second Champions trophy after their 2022 win, which makes them the first organisation in the game's history to lift the title twice. Shanghai shares Malaysia's UTC+8 time zone, so local fans could follow the decider at the same evening hour as the crowd in the arena.
How the grand final unfolded
LOUD took the opener on Summit 13-11 after a tight back-and-forth map. Vitality replied on Lotus, winning 13-8 behind a strong game from Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev, and levelled the series at 1-1.
That turned out to be Vitality's last map. LOUD dominated Sunset 13-5 to retake the lead, then closed out the series 13-10 on Haven. The 3-1 scoreline matches their 2022 final in Istanbul, when they beat OpTic Gaming by the same margin.
erde named MVP as a young roster delivers
LOUD's captain and in-game leader, Roberto "erde" Lobos, was named MVP. Reports describe him as 18 and part of the youngest lineup ever to reach a Champions grand final. Apart from the organisation's name, little links this team to the 2022 champions. Inven Global reported that every LOUD player in Shanghai was making his first Champions appearance since joining the VCT.
The team came to China as the Americas' second seed. They lost only one match all tournament: a group-stage defeat to Vitality in the Group B winners' match. They then beat Vitality in their next two meetings, including the one that mattered most. LOUD also went through the playoffs without dropping a series, reaching the final from the upper bracket.
Another near miss for Vitality and Europe
For Vitality, this was a second straight Champions grand final defeat to an Americas team after the 2025 final. EMEA still has no Champions title. Vitality had looked a strong contender after beating LOUD in the group stage and 100 Thieves in the lower bracket, but they could not keep that level up over a best-of-five.
A big tournament for the Americas
The result gives the Americas their fourth Champions title. Inven Global also noted that all four Americas teams in the round of 16 reached the playoffs, a first for any region at Champions. Pacific had a harder time: Nongshim RedForce, T1 and Paper Rex all reached the playoffs but went out in the lower bracket. Paper Rex's runner-up finish in 2023 is still the best Champions result by a Pacific team.
The tournament began in Shanghai on 24 September. With this final, the 2026 VCT season is over, and attention moves to the 2027 calendar.
Key takeaways
- LOUD beat Team Vitality 3-1 in the Valorant Champions Shanghai grand final on 18 October 2026.
- Map scores: Summit 13-11 (LOUD), Lotus 13-8 (Vitality), Sunset 13-5 (LOUD), Haven 13-10 (LOUD).
- LOUD are the first organisation to win Valorant Champions twice, after their 2022 title.
- Captain Roberto "erde" Lobos was named MVP.
- Vitality have now lost two straight Champions grand finals to Americas teams.
FAQ
Who won Valorant Champions 2026? LOUD won Valorant Champions 2026, beating Team Vitality 3-1 in the grand final in Shanghai on 18 October 2026.
Who was the MVP of Valorant Champions Shanghai? LOUD captain and in-game leader Roberto "erde" Lobos was named MVP of the grand final.
Has any team won Valorant Champions twice before? No. LOUD are the first organisation to win the title twice. Their first came in 2022, also with a 3-1 win in the grand final.
Sources: GosuGamers, Inven Global, THESPIKE.GG, Hotspawn