LOUD’s erde dedicates Champions title to late mother

LOUD’s erde dedicated the team’s VALORANT Champions 2026 title to his mother, who died two days before LOUD’s opening match against EDward Gaming on Sept. 26. The 18-year-old player spoke after LOUD won the world championship.

Erde said he expected his mother to recover because her treatment appeared to be going well. LOUD defeated EDward Gaming 2-0 and beat Vitality just over three weeks later to win the tournament.

“I wanna dedicate this win to my mom. She died two days before the EDG game,” erde said. “I couldn’t believe it because I thought she was going really well with her treatment. I dedicate this tournament for her. I only play for her.”

Erde was named the MVP of Champions 2026. At 18, he became the youngest player to receive the award, surpassing Erick “aspas” Santos, who was 19 when he won the MVP title with LOUD at Champions 2022.

LOUD’s victory over Vitality made the organization the first to win VALORANT Champions twice. The 2026 championship came with a different starting lineup from the roster that won LOUD’s first world title in 2022.