South Korea's Gen.G GC and China's Nova Esports GC have become the first participants to end their run at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2026. Having suffered back-to-back defeats, both teams depart the tournament in São Paulo, leaving eight teams remaining in the fight for the trophy.
Gen.G GC were the first to lose their chances of advancing after a 2-1 defeat to fellow Pacific region representative FENNEL Female in the lower bracket. This match served as a rematch of the Game Changers Pacific grand final, where Gen.G previously claimed a 3-2 victory. Combined with their opening loss to KRÜ Blaze, the Korean squad was forced into an early exit from the competition.
Despite the early elimination, the season as a whole was successful for Gen.G: the team secured all possible titles in Korea before winning the Pacific region. The organization returned to the women's league at the start of this year by signing the core of the 2025 Ninetails roster (the club previously fielded a North American roster in 2023). Gen.G CEO Arnold Hur dispelled any doubts regarding the team's future, stating on X that this season was "just the start" and there is a lot to build on.
Shortly after Gen.G's exit, Nova Esports GC also left the tournament. Their decisive defeat was dealt by the defending champions, Team Liquid Brazil, who continue to defend their title won in Seoul in 2025. The Chinese team lost their opening match at this year's championship to SK Nebula.
Nova arrived at the tournament as China's top seed following their victory in the September Game Changers China Qualifier. However, since this was the only tournament held in their region all year, the team had extremely limited competitive practice leading up to the world championship in Brazil.
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