Team Vitality and LOUD meet in the Valorant Champions 2026 grand final on October 18, one series away from turning a difficult year into a world championship. They have already beaten each other in Shanghai. This final meeting decides which team gets to finish the journey with the trophy.

Vitality won their Group B encounter 2–0, then beat Nongshim RedForce and G2 Esports to reach the upper final unbeaten in series. LOUD fought through the group decider against Global Esports before overcoming Paper Rex and NRG.

When they met again, LOUD recovered from a map down to win 2–1, earning the first grand-final spot and leaving Vitality with one remaining chance.

Vitality took it. After losing the opening map against 100 Thieves, they won three straight to secure a 3–1 lower-final victory. Sayonara’s 70 kills helped bring them back to the opponent that had stopped them a day earlier, according to VLR’s match recap.

The People Who Helped Them Get Here

Chronicle’s words after that win showed how much reaching the final meant.

“It’s very special. I think everyone in the team knows how hard this year was for all of us. A lot of ups and downs, and actually a lot more downs than ups,” he said.

“And coming to this tournament, into the grand final, it’s something that I would never imagine, especially coming after Stage 2.”

He credited his teammates for making that possibility real. The pride was in what they had managed together, after a season that had given them plenty of reasons to doubt.

For LOUD captain erde, support had also mattered when his confidence faltered. After their first loss to Vitality, he spoke about feeling disappointed with his performance and needing to reset.

“Thanks to my dad, my brother and my friends, they helped me a lot,” he said.

By the time LOUD reached the final, he sounded comfortable with the player he had become: “I’m just staying true to who I am, and I think it’s working well for us.”

Only one team will lift the trophy. Both arrive with people to thank—and one more match to give them something to celebrate.