The Group B opener for Valorant Champions 2026 saw an intense clash between Vitality and Global Esports, and to call it a nail-biter would be an understatement.
The two teams battled it out in a BO3, with Vitality eventually coming out on top after a 13-11 decider game on Summit.
Here’s everything that went down during the series.
Map Veto
- Vitality bans Sunset
- Global Esports bans Split
- Vitality picks Abyss
- Global Esports picks Ascent
- Vitality bans Haven
- Global Esports bans Lotus
- Summit was left over
Map 1: Abyss (Pick: Vitality, Win: Vitality, Final Score: 13-10)
Vitality looked well prepared for their map pick to kick off the series, dominating Global Esports through the first half despite dropping the pistol round and falling behind 0-2 early. The French side conceded just two more rounds the rest of the half, taking a commanding 8-4 lead into their CT side.
Global Esports tried to fight back in the second half, but another pistol-round loss put them further behind, trailing 4-10. They rattled off five straight rounds to close the gap to 9-10, but couldn’t complete the comeback, as Vitality closed out the game 13-10.
Map 2: Ascent (Pick: Global Esports, Win: Global Esports, Final Score: 13-9)
Vitality looked to get a head start on the second map with a pistol-round win on the CT-side of Ascent, but a dropped Guardian enabled Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza to pull off an amazing 1v3 clutch to shut them down in their tracks. While Vitality could grab a few rounds over the rest of the half, GE had the edge heading into the second half as the scoreboard read 7-5.
GE looked comfortable on the Ascent CT-side as they racked up back-to-back round wins to extend their lead to 11-6, but Vitality weren’t willing to go without a fight, securing some impressive round wins rallying behind Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen’s impeccable aim. Vitality managed to bounce back a bit, but it didn’t take long for GE to regain their composure as the Indian org secured game two with a 13-9 score.
Map 3: Summit (Win: Vitality, Final Score: 13-11)
Summit was easily the most tense game out of the three played in the series. The first half of the map saw the two teams taking swings at each other back and forth, with neither managing to get a decisive advantage over the other. The half ended with a score of 6-6.
Vitality kicked off the second half of Summit on the right foot by securing the pistol-round and converting the anti-eco and bonus rounds that followed, grabbing a strong lead and putting GE at an economic handicap. GE tried to retaliate towards the end of the half, narrowing Vitality’s lead down to 12-11 before Vitality denied the overtime by securing the last round, ending the game with a 13-11 score.
Jamppi was easily the MVP of the series, securing a total of 60 kills while conceding only 48 deaths, a KD of 1.15, and an ACS of 244.
With this victory, Vitality secures a 1-0 start heading into their next game in the groups. They will take on the winners of EDward Gaming vs LOUD on September 30, 12:00 pm UTC.
