NRG defeats regional rivals MIBR, will face FNATIC in upper finals

In the upper bracket semifinals at Valorant Champions 2025, there was a regional matchup of two teams who got hot at the right time, but only one could make it to the upper finals. Those two teams were NRG NRG North America Rank #1 s0m Sam Oh brawk Brock Somerhalder mada Adam Pampuch skuba Logan Jenkins Ethan Ethan Arnold and MIBR MIBR Brazil Rank #1 artzin Arthur Araujo xenom Eduardo Soeiro cortezia Gabriel Cortez Verno Andrew Maust aspas Erick Santos , who played an intense three-map series, but it was NRG once again coming out on top in Paris.

The series began on Abyss, with NRG returning to their Harbor composition while MIBR ran double-Initiator. NRG won the first pistol, and won the bonus round thanks to some s0m aggression catching out aspas . That built an early lead for NRG, but MIBR won a B-site hold off a timeout thanks to some nice shots from cortezia . While the half looked comfortable for NRG, aspas got his Operator, and the adaptations from MIBR worked as they ended the half tied 6-6. It also ended with a bit of comedy, as mada fell off the map off a missed Yoru teleport.

MIBR won the second half pistol to take their first lead of the series, but NRG regained confidence in duels outside B to tie the game back at 8-8. It was aspas that retook the lead for MIBR, but some heroics from Ethan and brawk brought the map back to overtime. The first four overtime rounds were traded, but mada closed it out to win Abyss 16-14.

The next map was Haven, with MIBR and NRG both running solo Neon alongside double-Controller. MIBR won the first pistol, nearly converted the bonus round, and was confident in the rounds they won. NRG won some clutches to prevent MIBR from running away with the half early on, but cortezia prevented a late C-site hit thanks to some great utility.

MIBR ended the first half with a 10-2 lead, near perfect if it wasn't for those two clutches from NRG earlier on in the half. After MIBR won the second pistol, it was set in stone, with the map ending 13-4 and the series going to map three.

It all came down to Corrode, with the two teams running mirror compositions again. This time, both teams ran the Waylay composition alongside double-Controller. MIBR won the first half pistol once again off the star play of aspas, who was on pace to break the best-of-three kill record. NRG did prevent the bonus round conversion, but MIBR continued to attack A-site with confidence. NRG won their second round to make it 4-2 early on off a great scan from Ethan, which built some momentum to tie the game 4-4. Though, after a timeout, MIBR looked rejuvenated, winning lots of confident rounds off of both aspas and artzin. NRG kept it close, but MIBR entered the half up 7-5.

MIBR won the second pistol on Corrode as well, with cortezia and artzin getting two quick kills down mid. However, NRG won the eco after some amazing Guardian shots from s0m.

NRG took that eco round win and built on it to tie the map 8-8, and took the lead thanks to great team play. Every aggressive play MIBR tried, NRG countered it diligently, until MIBR pulled out a timeout down 11-8. They needed a big round win, and both Verno and xenom delivered. MIBR was in prime position for a small comeback, and while a skuba 1v2 put NRG on series point, Verno had three masterclass rounds in a row to take the map to overtime.

To start OT on Corrode, mada got an early pick and NRG played retake well, but MIBR won the next round continue OT. NRG took the OT lead for the second time, but aspas aced to keep MIBR alive. NRG looked like they were going to go down in OT for the first time, but s0m won a 1v2 clutch to put the pressure on MIBR for the third time. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, as mada got two entry kills and NRG won Corrode 16-14 and secured the series win.

Despite the loss, due to the dominance on map two alone, aspas was the star of the series. He broke the international best-of-three kill record with 80 kills, ended with a player rating of 1.37, +38, 272 ACS, and 15 first kills.

With this win, NRG will face FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder in the upper bracket finals at Champions 2025, and guarantee a top-three finish. As for MIBR, after a grueling loss, they will have to go through the lower bracket to try and win the trophy, and their next match is against DRX.