KRÜ Blaze complete their lower-bracket title run

The story

KRÜ Blaze defeated Gentle Mates GC 3–2 in São Paulo to win the 2026 VALORANT Game Changers Championship.

The November 1 final gave Latin America its first title at the event, according to Esports Insider. KRÜ also became the first team to win the championship after dropping into the lower bracket.

Five maps decided the trophy

Gentle Mates won Haven before KRÜ answered on Abyss. An overtime victory put KRÜ ahead, but Gentle Mates took Split to force the final map. KRÜ closed the series on Ascent.

The champions had previously lost to Shopify Rebellion Gold in the upper bracket. Their recovery included wins over Team Liquid Brazil and MIBR GC before they defeated Shopify in the lower final. The tournament’s last series therefore completed a run through several elimination matches.