The 2025 Game Changers: Pacific finals have wrapped up, with one familiar face claiming yet another Game Changers Championship berth, and one rookie organization looking to finish its stellar first year in the game on the international stage.
At the beginning of the year, Xipto Esports parted ways with its entire roster. The three-player core of
enerii
,
Alexy
, and
Kamiyu
, which has been together since its days on
Team SMG GC
Team SMG GC
Inactive
enerii
Odella Abraham
Alexy
Alexy Francisco
shirazi
Kelly Jaudian
Kamiyu
Camille Enriquez
, signed with
Team Falcons Vega
Team Falcons Vega
Asia-Pacific
Rank #3
Alexy
Alexy Francisco
enerii
Odella Abraham
Kamiyu
Camille Enriquez
madv
Modhi Alkanhal
Mary
Maryam Maher
, with
Tara
departing,
shirazi
landing with
Nova Esports GC
Nova Esports GC
Game Changers
Rank #51
alyssa
Annitta Peerwantanagul
icebox
Clem
7er
shirazi
Kelly Jaudian
, and head coach
Colbat
also leaving. The team was inactive until June, when it picked up an all-new roster built from a core of players from Filipino team
Ascend
Ascend
Inactive
grahams
Leanne Ti-in
Japips
Jefferlynne Hernandez
PIETY
Kim De Guia
capriciouS
Mary Grace Sabado
Kon
Loraine Pagente
/
sisu
sisu
Inactive
yxqme
Surassawadee Khongpechdee
grahams
Leanne Ti-in
PIETY
Kim De Guia
capriciouS
Mary Grace Sabado
Kon
Loraine Pagente
, which finished second in Split 1 of the Southeast Asia GC
with their only losses coming to Team Falcons Vega.
Under the Xipto banner, the team continued to be one of the strongest in Southeast Asia in Split 2, but still could not get over the Team Falcons Vega hurdle. They finished second, claiming one of the region's three GC Pacific slots, with their only two losses of the split coming to Team Falcons. On the Pacific stage in Bangkok, Xipto finally exorcised those demons, defeating Team Falcons to reach the upper final. From there, they defeated Ninetails 2-0 to clinch a top-two finish and qualify for the Game Changers Championship.
Ninetails burst onto the scene in 2025. The team was founded by streamer
972
, who last played for the Korean Challengers team
Team IAM
Team IAM
Inactive
GodDead
Kim Sung-sin (김성신)
Bunny
Chae Joon-hyuk (채준혁)
Efina
Kim Nak-yeon (김낙연)
Doenmo
Ahn Seung-won (안승원)
Pkm
Park Kang-min (박강민)
. With one rookie and four players who have had GC experience in Korea and Japan, the team opened up play in Korea Stage 1 in dominant fashion, winning all three of their open qualifier matches 2-0 before going 8-0, dropping just two maps over the course of the entire stage. That dominance continued in Split 2, as the team again went a perfect 8-0, dropping just one map this time en route to qualifying for Game Changers Pacific.
After winning their first two matches, Ninetails' 21-match winning streak was snapped by Xipto in the upper finals, sending them to the lower bracket, where a matchup against the old Xipto core of Team Falcons Vega awaited them. In a best-of-five series that went the distance, Sentinel player FullMoon logged a match-high 96 kills to help Ninetails defeat Team Falcons Vega, making Ninetails Korea's first-ever participant in a Game Changers Championship.
Both teams secured their GCC slots, and in the grand final, Xipto took advantage of its double map ban to claim victory in the rematch. They banned away Ascent and Lotus, two of their more frequent bans in recent months, and won 3-1 to claim back-to-back Pacific GC titles. Xipto Duelist yxqme finished with the highest ACS of any player in the tournament at 259.2, while Omen and Yoru player grahams finished with the highest rating of all players with 1.33.
The Game Changers Championship will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from November 20-30. Four out of the competition's 10 slots have already been claimed, with Xipto and Ninetails joined by
Team Liquid Brazil
Team Liquid Brazil
Brazil
Rank #2
Jelly
Julia Iris
Bizerra
Vitoria Vieira
Joojina
Letícia Paiva
isaa
Isabeli Esser
daiki
Natalia Vilela
and
Karmine Corp GC
Karmine Corp GC
Europe
Unranked
alkyia
Azra Erin
Jiex
Şura Yıldırım
anesilia
Anastasia Ivanova
safiaa
Safia Leghzal
Glance
Anastasia Anisimova
.