Paper Rex Beat Team Liquid 2-1 in Valorant Champions Shanghai Opener

Valorant Champions Shanghai 2026 began with Paper Rex defeating Team Liquid 2-1 in a tightly contested opening match on September 24. Both teams entered the series eager to avoid an early loss that would jeopardize their advancement in Group C, which also includes G2 Esports and TYLOO.

Paper Rex took the first map, Ascent, with a commanding 13-4 victory. The team built momentum early, recovering from a 0-4 deficit to take an 8-4 lead at halftime. Strong defensive play, including a pistol round win and bonus round conversion, gave Paper Rex control they never relinquished.

Team Liquid answered on Haven, dominating the map 13-7. The EMEA roster's attacking side proved particularly effective, exploiting gaps in Paper Rex's setup to build leads and convert them into rounds. Paper Rex's Ilya "something" Petrov kept his team competitive but could not overcome Liquid's superior map control.

The series came down to Lotus, where Paper Rex's defensive setup proved decisive. The Pacific roster opened the map with a 9-2 lead on their favored defensive half, then held on despite Team Liquid's resilience on the comeback attempt. With the score at 10-8 in Paper Rex's favor, Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie secured a quick double kill that shifted momentum. Paper Rex closed out 13-10 when Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee earned an ace on match point to seal the series.

The victory sends Paper Rex to the Group C winners' match against G2 Esports on September 29, while Team Liquid drops to the elimination bracket to face TYLOO on October 1. The group stage runs through October 4, with the eight advancing teams moving into double elimination playoffs starting October 7. The grand final is scheduled for October 18 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.

Champions Shanghai is the first time China has hosted the international Valorant championship and marks the final Champions event of the franchise era. Sixteen teams compete for a $2.25 million prize pool across four groups of four, with one team each from the Americas, EMEA, Pacific and China in every group.