Image credit: Josie Clark for Kyusai
The VALORANT Masters just concluded at the Copper Box arena in London and saw Leviatán raise the trophy to become the youngest team in the Americas. Led by kiNgg, the team proved that playing through the Lower Bracket didn’t mean you were down and out. They put away Team Heretics, XLG, Vitality, and Edward Gaming to face Paper Rex after all, a true underdog story that deserves to be celebrated. Kyusai attended the grand finals in person, and it was the show to watch.
On a LEV
The VALORANT Masters final had all the action and suspense that you would hope for, and while it wasn’t quite as much of a back-and-forth as with Paper Rex vs EDward Gaming, we did see the grand finals go to all five maps. Paper Rex came out of the gate swinging with their pick of Fracture, and it was a similar level of domination that was witnessed against EDG, a six-round domination up until half-time, with Leviatán only winning Round 7 and Round 8. Paper Rex quickly closed it down with a seven-round win streak, with their trademark aggression on full display.
True to its namesake, Split saw a much more even balance from both PRX and LEV. While Paper Rex again started strong, winning pistols and the second round before the pendulum shifted back, fighting fire with fire. Leviatán had an answer for everything after trading Round 3 and Round 4, and particularly in Round 12. Straight decimation with three eliminations and four back-to-back diffuses to claw it back. 1-1.
Breeze was anything but, for either team, with Paper Rex again starting strong in the first two rounds and giving way to Leviatán’s five-round streak. Aggression meets aggression, with two of the fastest and most unpredictable teams in VALORANT esports violently colliding. PRX snatched the momentum back from Round 13 with two filthy rounds under their belt, and then completely halting LEV’s attempted resurgence on Round 15 with another six-round streak, ultimately winning the map 13-11; it was close, but still all to play for now.
Plasticine dinosaurs
If something had been the one to watch in Paper Rex’s first three games, then the beginning of Ascent saw a shift in the pattern that we observed, a break in the two-round domination of the pistol round, chiefly, that Leviatán won on pistols. It’s where we started to see PRX begin to sweat. It caused a desperate struggle, with a violent collision course of repeated streaks on both sides, culminating in LEV clutching from Round 15 onwards. It was all to play for on Lotus, the decider.
It’s with the final map, Lotus, that Leviatán proved that they were the VALORANT esports team to watch, and the culmination of what makes Riot Games’ tactical shooter so exciting. At this point, both teams are tired; clear fatigue has set in as Paper Rex had nothing dangerous left to play. This was evident in the fact that LEV won pistols and the second round, completely outclassing PRX with its own strategy. An attempt was made in the third round; however, it couldn’t be carried out either. LEV took it personally.
Just how personally, exactly? Well, Leviatán struck back with a staggering nine-round winning streak. It’s a test of not only endurance but also a testament to their adaptability, just how quickly and how effortlessly LEV could anti-strat, and counter-strike, using Paper Rex’s own plays against them, including the complete dismantling of PRX’s famous W-gaming playstyle. This was most apparent with the tag-team combination of Neon and spikeziN, who were at the top of their game.
They needed to be, too. Paper Rex had one more explosive burst of aggression left in Rounds 14-17, but it wasn’t enough to secure the W, as Leviatán secured the trophy with Round 18. It was largely over before this point, so one-sided and dominant from LEV that any comeback into overtime just wasn’t on the cards, not when the Argentinian team had an answer for everything. This is the future of VALORANT esports. Leviatán went in as the underdog against the clear favorites, battled their way through the lower brackets, and showcased exactly the potential of the next generation.
FAQs
Following the VALORANT Masters in London, the next event is VALORANT Champions, which will be held in Shanghai, China, from September to October 2026.
Leviatán won the VALORANT Masters held in London, with a 3:2 victory over Paper Rex, with a particularly dominant deciding game on Lotus.
There are usually two VALORANT Masters events held every year on the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT).
The VALORANT Masters prize pool is $1,000,000, with this year’s winner, Leviatán, taking home $350,000.
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