The World Championship in Valorant, called the Champions, is a mixed race for the teams from Europe. At the end of the preliminary round it is time for Fnatic, FunPlus Phoenix and Team Liquid: Playoffs or World Cup-Out. While Fnatic were able to rehabilitate themselves after their opening defeats with a 2:1 victory against Furia Esports and Team Liquid with a 2:0 victory against EDward Gaming, it was a bitter defeat for FunPlus Phoenix (FPX).

The reigning Masters winner conceded a 1: 2 bust in the duel with Xset from the USA. While FPX was able to win the second Map Fracture, on which the team is considered the best in the world, with a score of 13:4, it conceded a bitter 5:13 defeat on the final Map Breeze.

This means that the three European teams are in the deciding matches for the playoff entry. While FPX has the supposedly easiest opponent with KRÜ Esports, real chunks are waiting for Liquid and Fnatic.

Fnatic will face 100 Thieves, against whom it had lost to the World Cup opener. The professionals of Liquid have perhaps the hardest lot: they have to defeat the tournament co-favorite Paper Rex from South Korea on the way to the knockout round.