At the previous official event, Paper Rex defeated Fnatic in the grand final — to become the VALORANT Masters Toronto 2025 winners. Both teams had a lot to prove in this semifinal at Champions 2025!
Two times during this competitive season, Fnatic players were one step away from a big tournament win. At the VALORANT Esports World Cup 2025, Fanatic lost to Team Heretics in the grand final. At Masters Toronto 2025, their final opponents were Paper Rex.
We still have a few matches to witness before the grand final at VALORANT Champions 2025 — but Fnatic already used their chance for revenge against Paper Rex. FNC and PRX faced each other in the upper semifinal.
For Paper Rex, it was an opportunity to prove their superiority. After winning the tournament in Toronto, PRX finished 4th at the VALORANT EWC — and it was Fnatic who sent Paper Rex to the lower brackets back then. Beating Fnatic in this match could be such a statement, and PRX were really close to it.
Stream: Watch FNC vs PRX at VALORANT Champions 2025
It was the first upper semifinal of the tournament day on Sept. 28. You can watch the FNC vs PRX stream on the official YouTube channel or below.
Fnatic versus Paper Rex, semifinal: Maps, score, agents, and more
The winners of this semifinal advance to the upper final at VALORANT Champions 2025. Their next opponent is decided in the match between MIBR and NRG.
The losers fall into the lower brackets to potentially have three more matches before the grand final.
FNC 2:1 PRX — Fnatic win the series
Map 1, Bind, PRX pick | Map 2, Haven, FNC pick | Map 3, Lotus |
|---|---|---|
| FNC 10:13 PRX | FNC 13:4 PRX | FNC 13:9 PRX |
Agents
FNC Picks | Fnatic | Paper Rex | PRX Picks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astra (G1) Omen (G2) Omen (G3) | Jake “Boaster” Howlett | Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee | Viper (G1) Vyse (G2) Vyse (G3) |
| Tejo (G1) Killjoy (G2) Killjoy (G3) | Domagoj “Doma“ Fancev | Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto | Brims (G1) Waylay (G2) Omen (G3) |
| Viper (G1) Viper (G2) Viper (G3) | Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov | Ilia “something” Petrov | Yoru (G1) Yoru (G2) Yoru (G3) |
| Yoru (G1) Yoru (G2) Raze (G3) | Kajetan “kaajak” Haremski | Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie | Raze (G1) Omen (G2) Raze (G3) |
| Fade (G1) Sova (G2) Fade (G3) | Austin “crashies” Roberts | Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza | Fade (G1) Fade (G2) Fade (G3) |
Match recap
Paper Rex looked like themselves on the first map, but they were torn to pieces on Haven. Map 3 promised to be PRX’s return to domination, but Fnatic delivered an absolutely mind-blowing comeback — from 1:9, they won 13:9!
PRX were clearly shaky during this match: periods of hesitation and weird decisions pulled them back from victory. The rest of their matches at Champions 2025 come with the risk of elimination.
Fnatic proved their mettle here, and we should keep an eye on this team in the winners final and potentially in the grand final. Such strong blows as 12 rounds in a row against the Masters Toronto 2025 winners are an exceptional occasion.
Map 1, Bind
It’s not a big surprise that Paper Rex picked this map for such an important match. The team has a 100% win rate on Bind this year!
Fnatic started slowly: losing the pistols and three pretty desperate rounds. Then, they managed to adapt to PRX’s style — which was unusually slow on the attacker side, with too much hesitation.
kaajak was a star player for Fnatic. For example, in Round 6, he delivered crucial kills from the back of A site. And in Round 7, kaajak won a 1v1 against f0rsakeN to defuse Spike. Such wow moments continued in the rest of this match.
After the side swap, it was the turn of Paper Rex to wake up. They won the pistols again. In Round 14, d4v41 clutched in a 1v2 situation to defuse Spike and deny an eco win by the opponents.
Fnatic still won one round with poor weaponry — In Round 16, to start a three-round win streak.
Paper Rex took the initiative in the most crucial moment! They overplayed Fnatic at the end of this game, secured a few rounds, and earned one score point.
FNC and PRX delivered an amazing VALORANT at Champions 2025 right on map 1.
Map 2, Haven
Fnatic just crushed their opponents on Haven!
Paper Rex won the pistols, but everything fell apart in the next round. FNC won their eco buy to be back in the game. Thanks to d4v41’s clutch with 3K, PRX secured two more rounds — before FNC went absolutely nuts with kills and general map domination.
In Round 11, Chronicle landed a few kills to grab Spike, rotate it to the other side of the map, and win a 1v1 against something. crashies won the second pistols for Fnatic with some amazing kills. Boaster delivered 3K in Round 16.
Everything went right for FNC on Haven against PRX, and they treated us to map 3 in this VALORANT Champions 2025 semifinal.
Map 3, Lotus — FNC vs PRX at VALORANT Champions 2025
It really looked like Paper Rex were going to take this map with no problem. Fnatic secured the pistols, but PRX succeeded on poor weaponry in Round 2 and launched their train of wins.
However, Fnatic were back in the game even in the first half. And then, they lost no round on the defensive side! It was 12 rounds in a row and a comeback from 1:9.
Breaking through tough matches: Path to the semifinals
Both FNC and PRX had ups and downs on their journey to the VALORANT Champions 2025 semifinal. They lost no matches so far, but some opponents turned out to be really tough.
- Paper Rex confidently defeated XLG Esports to kick off the tournament.
- To qualify for the Playoffs, the team somewhat struggled against underdogs, GIANTX. PRX lost the opening game on Ascent but still won the series.
- In the final brackets, Paper Rex had a rollercoaster of a quarterfinal against G2 Esports. The teams exchanged rounds, periods of domination, and games. PRX were slightly better in the end.
- Fnatic also started the VALORANT Champions 2025 Group Stage with a good win: over Rex Regum Qeon.
- MIBR created some difficulties for FNC — with 13:5 on the first map, Bind. Fnatic recovered after that.
- In the quarterfinal, FNC defeated DRX. Fnatic had to solve some internal issues, like disjointed play, to take that match.
The final set of matches at VALORANT Champions 2025 will happen from Oct. 3 to Oct. 5. Then, we’ll have a break before the next season, which includes player transfers.
For more VALORANT news and coverage, stick around on esports.gg.
