KRÜ Blaze win first Game Changers title for Latin America

KRÜ Blaze defeated Gentle Mates 3-2 at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday to win the 2026 Game Changers Championship. The Argentine team became the first champion to win the tournament after starting in the lower bracket.

Gentle Mates won the opening map, Haven, 13-5. KRÜ responded with a 13-5 victory on Abyss. KRÜ led Sunset 9-3 at halftime, but Gentle Mates forced overtime. KRÜ won the map 14-12 to move one win from the title.

Gentle Mates stayed in the series with a 13-8 win on Split. KRÜ then won Ascent 13-8 to secure the championship. Amaro “tok1o” Miranda was named Grand Final MVP after recording 84 kills across the five-map series, the highest total among KRÜ players.

KRÜ received $180,000 from the tournament’s $500,000 prize pool. Gentle Mates earned $100,000 for finishing second.

KRÜ opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over Gen.G GC on Oct. 23. Shopify Rebellion Gold then defeated KRÜ 2-0 in the upper-bracket semifinals on Oct. 27.

KRÜ stayed in the tournament with a 2-0 win over defending champions Team Liquid Brazil on Oct. 28. The team eliminated MIBR GC by the same score two days later, ending Brazil’s participation in the event.

KRÜ faced Shopify Rebellion Gold again in the lower-bracket final on Oct. 31. After losing Sunset 13-6, KRÜ won the next three maps for a 3-1 victory. The final map, Ascent, went to overtime before KRÜ won 17-15.

Gentle Mates reached the final without losing a series and had dropped one map before meeting KRÜ. The European team defeated Team Liquid, MIBR GC and Shopify Rebellion Gold in the upper bracket.

The São Paulo event was the final standalone Game Changers Championship. Riot Games plans to hold the Game Changers world championship alongside VALORANT Champions in Austin, Texas, from Sept. 16 to Oct. 10, 2027.

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