Vitality are the first EMEA team into the Valorant Champions playoffs

Team Vitality have taken the first Valorant Champions playoff spot to go to a VCT EMEA team this year, beating LOUD 2-0 in Shanghai on September 30 to finish top of Group B.

How the series went

Ascent was the comfortable half of it, ending 13-7, with Insider Gaming crediting a 347 ACS attacking half from PROFEK and clean closing rounds from Derke and Chronicle. Summit was not comfortable at all. Vitality went to overtime and trailed 16-17 before taking it 19-17, a swing Insider Gaming pins on young rifler Stefan "Sayonara" Mitcu clutching in the final rounds.

The group run was not a clean sweep either: Vitality needed three maps to get past Global Esports in their opening match on September 26, dropping Ascent in the middle before closing on Summit 13-11.

What it means for EMEA

Champions playoffs run from October 7 to 18, so Vitality now have a week's gap while the rest of the groups resolve. Being first through as a group winner is the part worth having, and EMEA has had a thin time of it at recent Champions events.

Insider Gaming also reports Paper Rex and NRG through from Groups C and D. Chronicle's presence on the roster is worth noting on its own: Vitality picked him up ahead of the 2026 season, and this is the deepest run the reshuffled lineup has made at a Champions.

Why it matters

Champions is the season's last event. For a region that has spent two years being eliminated early, Vitality getting through first - and doing it from 16-17 down - is the result EMEA needed.