The best VALORANT esports moments of 2025 – aboba.ru

Encompassing four regions, hundreds of players and one semi-franchised structure, the VALORANT 2025 esports season has delivered high-quality competition, underdog stories and record-breaking results.

As the scene heads towards a new year, Esports Insider takes the time to discuss the top VALORANT esports moments of 2025.

Southeast Asian esports organisation Paper Rex (PRX) has been among the top global VALORANT teams since 2020. 

Yet despite overwhelming and outfragging opponents across the game’s regional and global stages, its player core of f0rsaken, Jinggg, something and d4v41 had never lifted an international trophy.

On top of that, the 2025 VCT season began disastrously for PRX as the roster failed to qualify for the first global competition of the year, Masters Bangkok. These struggles continued during Pacific’s Stage 1, where the team was on the verge of missing the playoffs.

At this point, barely anyone in the competitive VALORANT scene believed that Paper Rex could go on a run, let alone win an international title. The squad seemed to have lost its spark. Its signature aggressive playstyle was deemed readable and too simplistic for the ever-increasing strategic understanding of VCT teams.

But the organisation went on to do what it does best: stay true to itself while defying expectations. First, PRX made some much-needed changes, replacing mindfreak with Filipino rookie PatMen. In addition, former Fnatic coach Jacob ‘mini’ Harris joined temporarily to help with the new roster’s strategic fundamentals and depth.

Next came its rocky path to the Stage 1 Playoffs. Despite growing pains, PRX secured the third and final Pacific slot for Masters Toronto in June. 

Analysts and fans who noticed PRX’s rapid improvements throughout VCT Stage 1 began to believe in the team’s growing momentum, which was dubbed the ‘Paper Rex Train’. In Toronto, Paper Rex’s momentum reached full speed. 

The team took down G2 Esports, Sentinels, Wolves Esports and finalist Fnatic for a flawless Playoffs run. In addition to lifting its first-ever international trophy, Paper Rex’s veteran member f0rsaken delivered, arguably, his best performance so far, earning him the Masters Toronto MVP Award.

Brazilian duelist aspas requires little introduction. Since 2021, the VCT veteran has consistently shown outstanding mechanical prowess across four organisations, making him one of the best VALORANT players of all time.

Whilst mostly known for his 2022 Champions win with LOUD, aspas has also secured third place at VALORANT’s biggest annual tournament in 2023 and 2024. 

When it was announced that the VALORANT legend would join one of VCT Americas’ worst-performing organisations, MIBR, for the 2025 season, many fans reacted with scepticism. But aspas and his new rookie squad consistently improved throughout the year, finishing third at VCT Americas Kickoff and qualifying for the final two global events.

Despite MIBR’s steady growth, it was surprisingly aspas himself who made fans worry about the roster’s chances at Champions 2025 in Paris. The player had underperformed in Stage 2 and struggled to adjust to the game’s new Yoru meta. 

In the French capital city, MIBR had a solid start, but its Playoffs match versus NRG was by far the most memorable for MIBR fans and arguably one of the best series of the championship. 

The Upper Bracket Semifinals saw the Brazilian organisation play against VCT Americas rival NRG, the latter of which would later go on to lift the Champions 2025 trophy. Across Abyss (14-16), Haven (13-4) and Corrode (14-16), viewers witnessed an incredible clash of playstyles: MIBR’s explosive site entries versus NRG’s slow, methodical calling.

In the end, it was NRG who sent MIBR to the lower bracket, despite being outfragged by every player on the enemy team. Perhaps, more importantly, the series served as aspas’ redemption.

With a kill-death ratio (KDA) of 80/42/6, aspas broke the record for the most kills in a single match at a global VCT event. His performance in Paris also earned aspas recognition for his fearless playstyle as a solo-Waylay, versus the Waylay/Yoru combination preferred by most teams at the time.

Moreover, he did not slow down after the loss against NRG. In MIBR’s next series versus DRX, aspas once again dominated the scoreboard, delivering a KDA of 76/51/8.

Although this lower bracket series led to MIBR’s elimination from Champions, aspas has proven to everyone that his deadly aim still merits respect after so many years in the scene.

Similar to Paper Rex, Fnatic has been among the top VALORANT esports teams since 2021. The UK-based esports organisation is primarily known for its historic 2023 run, where it became the first team to win back-to-back international trophies (VCT LOCK//IN and Masters Tokyo).

Whilst Fnatic couldn’t qualify for the first global event of the 2025 season, the team delivered an impressive second-place result at Masters Toronto. This rollercoaster of ups and downs continued through the later stages of the year. Fnatic was eliminated early in VCT Stage 2, yet at VALORANT Champions, the team smoothly secured a Playoffs spot.

Fnatic’s ultimate roadblock to a first-ever VALORANT Champions trophy was NRG. Fnatic had previously lost to the North American organisation in the Upper Bracket Final 2-0, but clawed its way back through to the finals via a 3-1 Lower Bracket win versus DRX.

Fnatic started the Grand Finals in the worst possible way, losing on Corrode (3-13) and Lotus (6-13) to go 0-2. Moreover, it looked like the team was destined to suffer a 0-3 sweep. When NRG achieved a near-flawless 11-1 defence half on Abyss, Fnatic’s fate seemed sealed.

But what started as one of Fnatic’s biggest fumbles turned into a historic comeback, reminiscent of the team’s 3-11 comeback during the LOCK//IN Grand Final against LOUD.

Two years after securing its first-ever international trophy, Fnatic proved its unmatched resilience once again by only losing a single round in the second half of Abyss and ultimately denying NRG’s sweep in with a 15-13 overtime win.

With this achievement, the team overcame the biggest comeback differential in an official VCT series. Although Fnatic later lost the series in a bittersweet 2-3 fashion, Abyss turned a stale final into a highly competitive conclusion to this year’s VCT season.

Arguably, the dark horse of VALORANT Champions 2025 was North American team NRG. Prior to the competition, the team hadn’t attended any global tournaments this year. Yet, when it mattered most, the team went on a remarkable championship-winning run.

For the roster’s three rookies, mada, brawk and skuba, it was their first-ever international trophy — an outstanding achievement for their debut in tier-one. For Ethan, however, it was an even more historic result as he became the first VALORANT player to claim two Champions titles.

Despite being a highly accomplished veteran in the VALORANT esports scene, Ethan has never been a flashy player, both on stage and on camera. His reliable consistency earned him the 2023 Champions trophy together with his previous organisation, Evil Genuises.

Afterwards, he returned to NRG and recorded underwhelming results throughout 2024, as well as the start of this year’s VCT season. NRG had been undergoing roster and coaching changes for years, but the mid-season retirement of veteran member FNS also forced changes to Ethan’s role within the roster.

Led by returning Head Coach, Malkolm ‘bonkar’ Renchwas, Ethan was tasked to become NRG’s new in-game leader (IGL), a role that he exceeded expectations with.

After a few months, the inexperienced IGL warmed up to his new responsibilities, earning his team a second-place finish in Stage 2 and qualification for Champions Paris.

Still, NRG was far from being considered a favourite at the event. The team was often criticised for its one-dimensional attack calling, which relied heavily on set strategies rather than on-the-fly adaptations.

These expectations would soon be turned upside down. NRG pulled off an undefeated Champions run, taking down giants such as Paper Rex and Fnatic. The two victories versus Fnatic are particularly impressive considering that Ethan had to out-call Boaster, one of the best IGLs across VCT.

With his second Champions title, Ethan is not only the most accomplished player in VALORANT history, but he has also proven his ability to grow across different roles.

As VALORANT esports grows older, its community has begun to see more and more day-one pro players step back from competing for various reasons. 

Last year, for example, saw the retirement of former Sentinels player TenZ, who has since established himself as a variety streamer. Moreover, NRG’s former IGL FNS transitioned to VALORANT co-streaming earlier this year. 

However, following the team’s success at Champions 2025, FNS is not the only NRG veteran who bid farewell to professional VALORANT. Former Counter-Strike prodigy s0m announced his retirement at the age of 23 in October.

The smokes expert had been competing for NRG ever since he made the switch to VALORANT in late 2020. Throughout five years at NRG, s0m has participated in countless North American tournaments and four international VCT competitions.

His most recent victory at Champions Paris marks the biggest achievement of his VALORANT esports career, allowing him to retire on a high note. While he remains signed to NRG, s0m has decided to focus on content creation instead.

“You guys might say ‘retiring at 23 is crazy’. Forget the age. Just competing for eight, nine, ten years in general, knowing that you have content creating, as well, it’s a pretty hard decision to make,” explained the veteran in his farewell stream.

S0m will be missed by VALORANT esports fans across the globe, but his retirement also leaves big shoes to be filled within NRG’s roster. For the upcoming VCT season, this challenge has been given to former Team Liquid player Keiko.

Like s0m, Keiko is known for his high-fragging performances in the smokes role, making him a promising replacement for the VALORANT legend.

This year was packed with surprising results, captivating personalities and unforgettable plays. So here are some honourable mentions that deserve to be remembered.

G2 Esports was by far the most dominant team regionally this year. The North American organisation won all three VCT Americas competitions (Kickoff, Stage 1 and Stage 2) and placed second at Masters Bangkok. G2 achieved this level of consistency despite playing with Babybay as a stand-in for leaf for the majority of Stage 2.

VCT China representative, Wolves Esports, defied expectations with its third-place finish at Masters Toronto. To get there, Wolves first won Stage 1 regionally and then defeated strong international contenders, including Team Heretics and Gen.G Esports. 

Wolves Esports’ Lysoar also became famous for simply standing up in silence. Since then, several other players have paid tribute to the Chinese player by ‘doing the Lysoar’.

In the stacked Playoffs bracket at VALORANT Champions 2025, Fnatic managed to defeat Paper Rex 2-1 while playing with a stand-in. Former Fnatic member Doma arrived just a few hours before the match to stand in for Alfajer, who was dealing with health complications. The series features tons of hero plays as well as a 3-9 third-map comeback from Fnatic.

During the 2025 VALORANT Game Changers Championship, Team Liquid Brazil denied Shopify Rebellion Gold’s threepeat by claiming the trophy 3-2. With this victory, the Brazilian team also took revenge for the 2023 championship, when Liquid lost the Grand Final to Shopify.

Moreover, the result highlights the increasing skill ceiling within the Game Changers circuit. More and more teams can compete with Shopify, which used to be the sole dominant force in Game Changers.