Nongshim RedForce and DRX suffered defeats in the lower bracket of the VCT 2025: Pacific Stage 2 playoffs against T1 and Rex Regum Qeon , respectively, and exited the tournament. With these victories, RRQ and T1 secured their slots at Champions.

Nongshim RedForce vs T1
For NS RedForce, this was a crucial match that determined their future in the VCT league. Despite the stakes, they fell 2:0 (Lotus 13:6, Ascent 13:9) to T1 , not only leaving the tournament but also being relegated to Ascension, where they will compete with other teams for spots in next year’s VCT.

The standout player of this match was surprisingly NS’s own Goo "Rb" Sang-min, who delivered 37 kills with 149 ADR and 248 ACS across two maps. He was the only player on his team to finish with a positive K/D and even outperformed his usual stats. 

DRX vs Rex Regum Qeon
DRX , the favorites of the series, unexpectedly suffered a clean 0:2 defeat against RRQ (Icebox 13:7, Corrode 9:13). With this victory, RRQ secured their spot at Champions 2025, while DRX ’s fate now depends on TALON’s performance in the tournament. If TALON fail to qualify directly for Champions, DRX will take the final slot from the Pacific region.

VCT 2025: Pacific Stage 2 is running from July 15 to August 31 in South Korea. Twelve teams are competing for a $250,000 prize pool and two slots at VALORANT Champions 2025.