Welcome to all fans and viewers of the esports discipline Valorant! From September 12 to October 5, 2025, the biggest tournament of the year — VALORANT Champions 2025 — will take place. Sixteen teams will meet and compete for the title of “Global Champions of Valorant” and a massive prize pool. On the first day of play, we will cover the upcoming match between GIANTX and Sentinels, which promises to be exciting: a top-17 team will face a top-5 team. On paper, the favorite is obvious, but underestimating the opponent can be costly — teams from the second tier often play without pressure and are ready to surprise with unconventional strategies. While the teams are preparing, let’s try to predict the likely winner and share some thoughts regarding betting.
How bookmakers see it: Favorite — Sentinels
Most bookmakers consider Sentinels the favorite in the matchup against GIANTX at VALORANT Champions 2025. The team finished third in VCT 2025: Americas Stage 2 and consistently takes prize positions in tournaments in their region. However, GIANTX finished second in the European VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 2, so they are fully capable of challenging the favorites.
Sentinels Form
Let’s start our match prediction by analyzing the form of Sentinels. Currently, Sentinels is in the top-5 of the world ranking, performs well in group stages, is one of the strongest teams in the North American region, and demonstrates confident performances at tournaments.
In VCT 2025: Americas Stage 2, Sentinels took third place, losing to NRG and G2 Esports. The team was disappointed, as they aimed for first place and had prepared extensively. In VCT 2025: Americas Stage 1, Sentinels finished second.
Sentinels roster: captain johnqt, zekken, Zellsis, bang, N4RRATE, and substitute reduxx.
Last year, at Valorant Champions 2024, the team took fourth place, advancing from the group stage with a 2:1 record and entering the upper bracket. After losing to the Chinese team EDward Gaming in the first upper bracket match, they won against the European team Fnatic in the lower bracket, but were eliminated in the next match by Team Heretics. Following the tournament, the roster underwent changes: Tenz and Sacy were removed, and in October 2024, bang, N4RRATE, and reduxx joined the team. Assistant coach GUNTER also joined the staff.
At the next major tournament, SOOP VALORANT League 2024, the team finished 5–6, failing to advance from the group stage with a 1:2 record.
At VALORANT Masters Bangkok 2025, Sentinels finished last (7–8), losing two matches in the Swiss system.
After VALORANT Masters Toronto 2025, where teams competed for $1,000,000, Sentinels finished 5–6. The team successfully passed the Swiss stage 2:0 and reached the upper bracket. In the playoffs, they lost to Paper Rex 0:2 and dropped to the lower bracket, where Fnatic defeated them 2:1.
At the Esports World Cup, the team finished 5–8. Sentinels advanced from the group stage 2:1 but again lost in the playoffs to the Asia-Pacific team Paper Rex, 0:2.
Overall, the team shows some difficulties in the playoffs at the global level, but consistently advances from the group stage. This allows us to expect that Sentinels can easily perform well in the group stage and, if conditions are favorable, gain momentum in the playoffs.
GIANTX Form
Continuing our betting insights, let’s analyze GIANTX. GIANTX was formed in December 2023 after the merger of Excel Esports (London) and Giants Gaming (Malaga). The team is constantly evolving and aims to return to the top — their strategic goal is stability in the Champions Tour and success at global championships. The team qualified again for VALORANT Champions 2025 by advancing through EMEA Stage 2 after defeating BBL Esports, marking their second appearance in three years. Their first appearance (before rebranding, known as Giants Gaming) was in 2021.
GIANTX started the 2025 season at VCT Kickoff. They lost their first match to BBL Esports (1:2), showing inconsistent gameplay. In the second match against Karmine Corp, they regrouped and won 2:1. The season started unevenly, but the team proved capable of competing and improving as the season progressed.
At VCT EMEA Stage 1, GIANTX began with losses to Team Vitality and Team Heretics, then defeated Gentle Mates, but this was insufficient for a comfortable playoff berth — the season start was uneven.
At VCT EMEA Stage 2, the team confidently passed the group stage with a 3:2 record, defeated Natus Vincere in the upper bracket but lost to Team Liquid 1:2. In the lower bracket, they defeated Natus Vincere again and won against BBL Esports 3:0, securing qualification for VALORANT Champions 2025. In the grand final, they lost to Team Liquid 0:3, but Stage 2 represented significant progress compared to Stage 1.
Although GIANTX had a rough start to the season, they qualified for the main tournament, giving them every chance to compete for the championship.
Head-to-Head History
As of now, GIANTX and Sentinels have not played any official Valorant matches against each other. Their first official encounter will take place on September 12, 2025, during the group stage of VALORANT Champions 2025.
Probable map picks
The match promises to be intense, and based on statistics, teams are likely to select maps where both have a chance to win.
Map | GIANTX WIN% | Sentinels WIN% | Likelihood of Selection |
Sunset | 71% | 55% | Very High |
Haven | 44% | 86% | High (Sentinels) |
Lotus | 50% | 85% | High (Sentinels) |
Corrode | 67% | 75% | Possible Third Map |
Ascent | 56% | 40% | Possible, Risky |
Bind | 40% | 0% | Unlikely |
Pearl | 0% | 100% | Unlikely |
Icebox | 50% | 25% | Unlikely |
BO3 will most likely include Sunset, then Haven or Lotus, and the third map — Corrode or Ascent — to ensure both teams have a chance.
Likely Picks and Bans — Sentinels
Sentinels have quite a diverse map pool, and this will definitely work to their advantage in the match against GIANTX.
Likely Picks:
- Haven — the team’s strongest map (86% WIN). Even though GIANTX is average on it (44%), Sentinels will likely choose it.
- Lotus — also strong for Sentinels (85%) and average for GIANTX (50%), allowing them to play comfortably.
- Pearl — perfect map for Sentinels (100% WIN) and disastrous for GIANTX (0% WIN). Likely an easy and guaranteed pick.
Likely Bans:
- Bind — very weak for Sentinels (0% WIN), almost certainly banned.
- Ascent — strong for GIANTX (56%), weak for Sentinels (40%), logical to ban to minimize the opponent’s advantage.
Sentinels will aim to play on their strongest maps and block maps where GIANTX could have an advantage. Most likely BO3 map pool: Haven, Lotus, Pearl; likely bans: Bind and Ascent.
Likely Picks and Bans — GIANTX
GIANTX have a slightly less diverse map pool compared to Sentinels, but they can still perform well on most maps.
Likely Picks:
- Sunset — strongest map for GIANTX (71% WIN). Sentinels are average on it (55%), so GIANTX can confidently pick it.
- Corrode — strong for GIANTX (67%) and average for Sentinels (75%), possible third map.
- Ascent — strong for GIANTX (56%) but weak for Sentinels (40%), possible risky pick if they need an extra chance.
Likely Bans:
- Haven — very strong for Sentinels (86% WIN), logical to remove.
- Lotus — strong for Sentinels (85% WIN), likely to be banned.
- Pearl — extremely dangerous for GIANTX (0% WIN), likely to be banned.
GIANTX will pick maps where they feel confident and block Sentinels’ most dangerous maps. Likely BO3 map pool: Sunset, Corrode, Ascent; likely bans: Haven, Lotus, Pearl.
Predicted result of the match
Sentinels have considerable experience on the global stage and participate in major tournaments more frequently, giving them a clear advantage in map control. However, GIANTX have shown strong play during the VALORANT Champions 2025 qualifiers and are certainly capable of taking at least one map. Therefore, in my opinion, the match will likely end 2:1 in favor of Sentinels.
Prediction:Sentinels 2:1 GIANTX
