3 fairytale storylines that can happen at Valorant Champions 2025

Valorant Champions 2025 is set to take place in Paris from September 12 to October 5, 2025, and certain interesting storylines are expected to unfold during this year’s world championship. As is typical for this prestigious annual tournament, aside from the prize money and the stadiums, impactful moments will surely feel bigger than maps and rounds, and the stories will likely stick with fans.

Within this year’s edition, fans have varied opinions, and three possible fairytale storylines emerge for Valorant Champions 2025: the rise of NRG (the tournament's underdog), the showcase of a legendary squad with a possible reignition in Sentinels, and the first crown opportunity for Team Liquid. Here's more on the topic.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and based on the author's opinion.

---

Valorant Champions 2025: 3 possible fairytale storylines

NRG: The underdog's return

NRG's Valorant squad (Image via NRG)

NRG’s 2025 journey has already felt like a rollercoaster. After missing Champions entirely in 2024, the team rebuilt, bringing in mada and Verno after losing Victor and crashies. But the shake-up didn’t stop there, as by mid-season, Verno was gone, brawk stepped in, and eventually, the squad's longtime leader, FNS, retired. This left Ethan to steer the roster as IGL, and skuba came on board.

For a team often tagged as inconsistent, these changes could have been catastrophic. Instead, NRG clawed back into the spotlight with a late surge in Stage 2, knocking off Leviatán, Cloud9, and Sentinels before falling to G2 in the final. That run was enough to punch their ticket to Paris.

What makes this storyline a fairytale is simple: NRG is still treated by many as an outsider squad despite being one of NA’s biggest names. Years of high expectations followed by stumbles have left its players with the “underdog” label, but this year’s Valorant Champions 2025 League gives them a chance to flip that perception.

---

Sentinels: A shot at revival

Sentinels Valorant squad (Image via Sentinels)

Few teams in Valorant carry as much weight as Sentinels. The squad's 2021 Masters Reykjavik run with a flawless 9-0 map streak, capped by its winning the first-ever international Valorant esports title, locked it into the game’s early history. The team had a superstar in TenZ, as well as enough momentum and cultural reach to pull in fans even outside of esports.

But dominance doesn’t last forever. Sentinels' struggles during 2022 and 2023 turned the organization into a target for criticism, with more people tuning in to see its players lose than win. However, in 2024, the team clawed its way back to relevance, and now, it has qualified for Valorant Champions 2025 as NA’s second team alongside G2.

What makes Sentinels' return fascinating is the backdrop. Its players are not walking in as unbeatable favourites. Instead, they’re carrying the history of being a team that has already been to the top, fallen hard, and is now testing whether another rise is still possible. If Sentinels makes a deep run in Paris, it’ll echo far beyond the server; it'll be proof that legends can have second acts.

---

Team Liquid: Chasing a first crown

Team Liquid's Valorant squad (Image via Team Liquid)

Team Liquid’s 2025 season has been about steady progress rather than dominance: a second-place finish at the VCT EMEA Kickoff, mixed results at Masters Bangkok and Masters Toronto, and then a sharper Stage 2 run where the team topped its group and eventually claimed the VCT EMEA Stage 2 title.

That run made Liquid EMEA’s first seed heading into Paris, which was accompanied by a noticeable change in its roster. nAts stepped fully into the IGL role while still anchoring maps with his Sentinel/Controller style, bringing structure and patience to the squad's gameplay. Now, with Keiko, kamo, paTiTek, and trexx around him, the pieces finally look aligned.

For the members of Team Liquid, the fairytale isn’t about redemption or return; it’s more about making history. Despite their years in the scene, they’ve never lifted the Champions trophy. Paris gives them the chance to do exactly that, backed by the confidence of a team that just peaked at the right time.

---

From September 12 to October 5, 2025, 16 teams will step into Paris, chasing the same $2,250,000 prize pool, but only one will leave as the best in the world. For some, it’s a shot at redemption. For others, it’s history waiting to be written.

If the script plays out just right, Valorant Champions 2025 could very well deliver one of these three fairytale storylines, or it could be something else altogether.