Gentle Mates GC come from a map down to beat Shopify Rebellion Gold and reach Game Changers final

Gentle Mates GC, on their Championship debut, beat Shopify Rebellion Gold 2-1 in the upper bracket final in São Paulo. The French-based side go into Sunday's best-of-five grand final with a two-map ban advantage, while Shopify Rebellion Gold must come through the lower final.

Gentle Mates GC are into the grand final of the VCT Game Changers Championship 2026. They beat Shopify Rebellion Gold 2-1 in the upper bracket final in São Paulo on Friday 30 October. The French-based side dropped the opening map and then took the next two. Both teams had arrived at the match with every map at the event won.

Shopify Rebellion Gold won map one, which lasted 53 minutes. On the second map they fought back to 10-10, but Gentle Mates closed it out 13-11 after 55 minutes. The decider on Summit ran for 57 minutes and finished 13-10 to Gentle Mates.

Coming through the upper bracket gives Gentle Mates a two-map ban advantage in the grand final. Shopify Rebellion Gold, led at the event by interim in-game leader alexis, drop into the lower bracket final against KRÜ Blaze.

Championship debutants remain unbeaten in São Paulo

This is Gentle Mates’ first appearance at the Championship. Their line-up of Marti, Nami, Wens, tokameite and berryx reached the upper final with 2-0 wins over Team Liquid Brazil and MIBR GC. Their last three EMEA Stage 3 results before the event were wins over G2 Gozen and SK Nebula, both 2-1, and a 3-2 defeat to G2 Gozen.

The Elo power rankings already had Gentle Mates ahead. They sit fourth with a rating of 1844 and a 33-7 record from 40 rated matches. Shopify Rebellion Gold are sixth on 1809, with a 40-20 record from 60 rated matches.

Shopify Rebellion Gold had cleared SK Nebula and KRÜ Blaze without losing a map. Before travelling, they beat FlyQuest RED 3-1 and 2-1 and SwimTrek Blue 2-0 in North America Stage 2. At last year’s Championship in Seoul, Team Liquid Brazil beat them 3-2 in the title match.

Shopify Rebellion Gold must beat KRÜ Blaze a second time

The lower bracket final is a rematch. Shopify Rebellion Gold beat KRÜ Blaze in the upper semi-final. KRÜ then earned their place with lower bracket wins over Team Liquid Brazil and MIBR GC, both without dropping a map. MIBR GC finished fourth, which is worth $50,000. SK Nebula, one of three EMEA teams in São Paulo, placed joint fifth to sixth for $25,000. Their line-up included Scottish player fluxxy.

Third place pays $70,000. The lower bracket final and the grand final are both best-of-five, after best-of-three series in the earlier rounds of the double-elimination bracket. Ten teams entered the event at Riot Games Arena, which Riot describes as the last Game Changers Championship to be held as a standalone event. In 2027 the Championship moves to Austin, Texas. For the first time it will run in the same city at the same time as VALORANT Champions, from 16 September to 10 October.

Shopify Rebellion Gold and KRÜ Blaze meet in the lower bracket final on Saturday 31 October at 15:00 BRT. The winner faces Gentle Mates GC in the grand final on Sunday 1 November at 15:00 BRT.