Reigning VALORANT world champions, NRG, have successfully started their run at the Champions Shanghai tournament. In their opening match, they defeated Nongshim RedForce across two maps (13-5, 13-10). With this victory, NRG is one step away from reaching the playoffs, continuing their campaign to become the first team in the discipline's history to win back-to-back Champions titles.
According to Brock "brawk" Somerhalder, the 2025 Grand Final MVP, a bootcamp in Taiwan played a key role in their preparation for the opening match. Several weeks of practice against local teams allowed NRG to study the aggressive playstyle of the APAC region and successfully shut it down against Nongshim.
The community has dubbed the group featuring NRG, Nongshim RedForce, Karmine Corp, and Xi Lai Gaming the "group of death." Brawk agrees with the high level of competition but notes that the group's heavy status is primarily due to the presence of NRG and Nongshim. Assessing potential opponents KC and XLG, the esports athlete highlighted their unusually aggressive playstyle, which NRG is ready to punish.
Commenting on the team's unconvincing performance in their final VCT Americas matches in Sao Paulo, brawk admitted that NRG deliberately did not play to their full potential. Since those matches only affected seeding for Champions, the team decided to hide some of their strategies and setups, specifically the map Split, which they successfully showcased in Shanghai.
Currently, the team is taking it one match at a time, avoiding unnecessary pressure from their status as defending champions. Brawk is confident that when the players act as a cohesive unit and keep their egos in check, NRG remains the best team in the world. According to him, the stakes are absolute at the biggest tournament of the year, and the squad is now fully locked in, demonstrating their best form since the start of the season.
As a reminder, G2 Esports Confidently Defeats TYLOO at the Start of VALORANT Champions Shanghai