NRG holds off FNATIC reverse sweep, wins Champions Paris

The dark horse of Champions Paris are underdogs no longer. NRG NRG North America Rank #1 s0m Sam Oh brawk Brock Somerhalder mada Adam Pampuch skuba Logan Jenkins Ethan Ethan Arnold has defeated FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder in 3-2 fashion, securing IGL Ethan his second Champions trophy.

The best-of-five series played out on Corrode, Lotus, Abyss, Ascent, and Sunset, with NRG choosing Corrode and Abyss, while FNATIC chose Lotus and Ascent. NRG took Corrode 13-3, then Lotus 13-6. FNATIC won Abyss 15-13 after going down 11-1, then also won Ascent 13-8, but NRG won Sunset 13-5 and earned the organization its first title.

The series opened on Corrode; NRG ran their double-Initiator composition, highlighted by Ethan on KAY/O, while FNATIC ran double-Controller with Boaster on Astra. Starting on the attack side, FNATIC held strong on the post-plant to secure the first pistol round of the finals. NRG nearly won their eco off some aggression in mid, but clean shots from mada and brawk prevented the bonus conversion. An Ethan 4K tied the map early on, which soon led to the first NRG lead. A smart bait play from s0m and skuba followed by a 1v2 clutch maintained the momentum, as NRG ended the first half up 9-3.

NRG won the second-half pistol off a creative rewrap through A-site itself, and after converting the bonus, Corrode was over as NRG ended the map 13-3.

FNATIC had to shake off their Corrode performance with a strong Lotus. Both teams ran Raze compositions, yet the Sentinel choice varied, with NRG choosing Vyse while FNATIC stuck with Killjoy. NRG took the first pistol, and some signature Odin play from brawk converted the bonus. FNATIC struggled against the Odin, and a thrifty win only provided a minor bump in the road for NRG. s0m was in form for his grand finals debut, single-handedly winning rounds for NRG.

FNATIC lost a rough 5v3 scenario down 7-1, a golden opportunity to keep the half close, and NRG ran away to another 9-3 lead. The next pistol could not be more important for FNATIC, and kaajak delivered with a crucial four kills to start the second half. Boaster prevented an anti-eco win from NRG with a 1v2 win, but a failed bonus conversion kept the NRG lead to five rounds. The comeback never truly materialized after that, as NRG won Lotus 13-6 and took a 2-0 lead in the grand finals. FNATIC would need to reverse sweep to earn the Champs trophy.

All the pressure was on FNATIC for Abyss, with FNATIC running a Waylay composition with Breach and Astra, while NRG stuck to a Harbor comp with mada on Yoru. brawk won NRG the first pistol on Abyss, and a mada flank executed a crashies ultimate to convert the bonus. FNATIC won round four, but NRG was unstoppable on the defense side. After back-to-back 9-3 deficits, FNATIC was down 11-1 on Abyss.

A comeback of comebacks was needed for FNATIC, and Chronicle won the second pistol by killing four. kaajak converted the bonus for FNATIC, but the team needed to be perfect to continue the series. FNATIC made Abyss the closest map of the series after the biggest deficit at the half, thanks to some amazing rounds from kaajak, and the comeback started to truly materialize as FNATIC reached round 23 only down 12-10. A tense post-plant went the way of FNATIC, as crashies lit up four in the final two rounds to take Abyss to overtime.

The streak continued as FNATIC won the first round of OT, but mada kept OT going the round after. FNATIC took another overtime lead, and this time kaajak and Chronicle closed it out to win Abyss 15-13. Another unbelievable comeback to add to the FNATIC catalogue, on the biggest stage.

That was step one for the potential reverse-sweep from FNATIC, and Ascent was the next step. FNATIC ran their double-Sentinel composition with Sage and Vyse, while NRG ran a double-Initiator with KAY/O and Sova. NRG won the first pistol, and a signature late attack round fumble from FNATIC led to a bound round conversion. FNATIC managed some round four magic again to stop the NRG run, and Boaster's calling started to shine. After an early 3-3 tie, Alfajer started to show off on Sage to lead FNATIC to their first true lead of the series.

Attacking on a defense-side map like Ascent with two Sentinels is hard to do, but the momentum from the comeback on Abyss was evident in the gameplay from FNATIC. An 8-4 lead heading into the defense half with two Sentinels couldn't have been a better spot for FNATIC to force map five.

Boaster got the final kill and hit the Macarena to win FNATIC the second pistol on Ascent. Ethan prevented that bonus round conversion, but FNATIC did a lot of damage to hurt their economy. NRG started to fight back on smart post-plants, but FNATIC saved their ultimates and used them to win Ascent 13-8 to take the series to a map five.

Sunset, a map that both teams struggled with regionally and internationally, would be how the VCT 2025 season ended. FNATIC ran a double-Duelist composition by moving Alfajer on Neon, while NRG stuck with their Breach composition. FNATIC won the first pistol from a perfect Boaster blind and an Alfajer triple, though NRG prevented the bonus round win thanks to Ethan. NRG strung some strong post-plants together, extending another first-half lead in the series. NRG had their third 9-3 lead at the half in the series, and needed to redeem their poor second half on Abyss by closing out Sunset and the series.

FNATIC won the second pistol, off an Alfajer 1v1 win over s0m, but were unable to convert the bonus. NRG reached double-digit round wins, then both Ethan and skuba reached 11. This time NRG needed just two round wins to win, and they got it quickly, winning Sunset 13-5, preventing the reverse-sweep, and winning 3-2 to be Champions.

After reaching three different grand finals in 2025, FNATIC finished with no international wins, but made NRG sweat in the final match of the VCT 2025 season.

The Champions 2025 MVP was brawk, who led with a 1.27 match rating and a +23 kill-to-death ratio, while also finishing second with both 84 kills and 151 ADR. The Odin has become a signature gun for him, and it was more than just a gimmick through this upper bracket run to the trophy.