Members of Xipto GC arrive to compete at the 2025 Valorant Game Changers Championship at the LoL Park Arena in Seoul, South Korea, on November 23, 2025.
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-laden Xipto Esports, fielding four Filipino players, saw a quick campaign in the 2025 Valorant Game Changers Championship after getting eliminated in the first round of the lower bracket at the hands of fellow Pacific bet, South Korea’s Ninetails.
Xipto Esports began its campaign with a 0-2 defeat to European team Karmine Corp GC.
In its do-or-die match against Ninetails, Xipto Esports started with a solid 3-0 run in its map pick of Pearl only for Ninetails to go on a 12-consecutive-round win. Even though Xipto managed to take another round, the lead was enough for Ninetails to take the opening map at 4-13.
On Bind, Xipto Esports managed to reset and take the lead at the half (8-4) and carry on the momentum as it switched to the defensive side. Hoping to secure the sweep, Ninetails seemed to be mounting a comeback, but Xipto Esports’ slim lead at the first half was enough to tie the series and force a decider, 13-8.
Xipto Esports, however, was not prepared for Ninetails on Split as the South Korean squad took a 0-5 lead. With the crowd on its side, Ninetails dominated the remaining rounds to close out the series with the win, 5-13, eliminating Xipto Esports at ninth to 10th place.
An emotional squad shared in the post-match conference that since their win at the regional Pacific Game Changers a month ago, the team had faced difficulty in preparing for the world championship given the disasters that had plagued the country.
“After the VCT Pacific GC a month ago, we probably just practiced for like five to 10 times max, that’s it. Because of super typhoon, because of visas and everything. Next time, we’ll prepare more before coming here. Not in a way that we couldn’t practice as a team, but maybe we could have done more as an individual, like grind more or something,” said Xipto’s in-game leader Mary Grace “capriciouS” Sabado.
Sabado’s teammate Leanne “Grahams” Ti-in, who resides in Bacolod, had been affected by Typhoon Tino and had to play at a computer cafe as she didn’t have electricity and connectivity for a couple of weeks to practice with her teammates.
Xipto Esports’ coach Nikhil “Sieh” Bhansali, who himself faced visa issues, agreed with the assessment.
“We feel like we didn’t practice enough and we’re not able to show our best because of that. It’s like, didn’t practice enough is the easy thing to say, but to be honest, our last month has been insanely chaotic. I had visa delays as well, and it’s just not been the right setup for us leading into this home ground [match], like you said, where we’ve got many cheering against us. I don’t want to use that as an excuse. The fact is, we just couldn’t show our best,” said Bhansali.
About the Author
