Game Changers Championship 2026: MIBR GC and KRÜ BLAZE reach upper semis as champions Liquid drop

The upper bracket quarterfinals at the Valorant Game Changers Championship 2026 in São Paulo are complete. Gentle Mates GC, KRÜ BLAZE, MIBR GC and Shopify Rebellion Gold have reached the upper bracket semifinals. Defending champions Team Liquid Brazil and EMEA Stage 3 winners G2 Gozen both dropped into the lower bracket. That bracket starts on Sunday with a Pacific match between Gen.G GC and FENNEL GC, and the loser will be eliminated.

Friday: Liquid and Gen.G drop

Gentle Mates GC beat Team Liquid Brazil, last year's champions, 2-0. Liquid came back from 5-1 down on Summit to reach 6-6 at half-time, but Gentle Mates won the map 13-10. They then led Split 8-4 at the break and won it 13-6. Wens was the standout on Cypher, with 13 kills in seven attack rounds on Split.

KRÜ BLAZE needed three maps to beat Pacific first seed Gen.G GC. Gen.G won Sunset 13-10 after leading 9-3 at half-time. KRÜ levelled the series by taking Ascent 13-7 and then won Abyss 13-11. Gen.G had cut an 11-5 deficit to 12-10, but KRÜ held on.

Saturday: MIBR GC keep rolling

MIBR GC came through the Americas Last Chance Qualifier and had already beaten FENNEL GC 2-0 in the opening round. On Saturday they beat G2 Gozen 2-0, taking Ascent 13-11 and Lotus 13-10. Waved led MIBR on Ascent with 286 ACS, and mizzy posted a 1.41 rating on Lotus. G2's Akita was the team's top performer on both maps.

In the last quarterfinal, North America's Shopify Rebellion Gold beat SK Nebula 2-0. SK Nebula had beaten China's Nova Esports GC 2-0 in the opening round.

Schedule ahead (Malaysia time)

Matches start at 2:00pm and 5:00pm Eastern US time, which is 2:00am and 5:00am in Malaysia the following morning.

• Mon 26 Oct, 2:00am: Lower Round 1, Gen.G GC vs FENNEL GC
• Mon 26 Oct, 5:00am: Lower Round 1, Team Liquid Brazil vs Nova Esports GC
• Tue 27 Oct, 2:00am and 5:00am: Lower Round 2, SK Nebula and G2 Gozen against the Lower Round 1 winners
• Wed 28 Oct, 2:00am: Upper semifinal, MIBR GC vs Gentle Mates GC
• Wed 28 Oct, 5:00am: Upper semifinal, Shopify Rebellion Gold vs KRÜ BLAZE

Finals weekend in São Paulo starts on 30 October. The grand final is on Sunday 1 November local time, which is the early hours of Monday 2 November in Malaysia.

For Southeast Asian viewers, Gen.G GC and FENNEL GC are the two teams that came through the Pacific circuit. Because they meet in Lower Round 1, at least one Pacific team will be eliminated on Monday morning.

Format and prize money

Ten teams play a double-elimination bracket at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo. All series are best-of-three apart from the lower final and grand final, which are best-of-five. The prize pool is $500,000, and the champions receive $180,000. Team Liquid Brazil won the 2025 edition, beating Shopify Rebellion Gold 3-2 in the final in Seoul.

Key takeaways

• Gentle Mates GC, KRÜ BLAZE, MIBR GC and Shopify Rebellion Gold are in the upper semifinals.
• Defending champions Team Liquid Brazil lost 2-0 to Gentle Mates and dropped to the lower bracket.
• Pacific teams Gen.G GC and FENNEL GC meet in an elimination match at 2:00am Malaysia time on Monday.
• The $500,000 event finishes with a best-of-five grand final on 1 November.

FAQ

Where is the Game Changers Championship 2026 being held? At the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo, Brazil, from 22 October to 1 November.

Has any team been eliminated yet? Not yet. Losers of the first upper bracket matches dropped to the lower bracket, and the first eliminations come in Lower Round 1.

How much do the champions win? The winners receive $180,000 from the $500,000 prize pool.

Sources: VLR.gg, Hotspawn