Look Sports Media – Team Vitality, the reigning Rocket League World Champions, suffered a shocking early exit from the RLCS World Championship 2025, leaving fans and analysts stunned. The all-French roster, playing in front of their home crowd at the LDLC Arena in Lyon, France, were unexpectedly defeated by Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) in the Lower Bracket semifinals. This marks a monumental upset, considering Vitality’s pre-tournament favouritism and their star-studded lineup featuring two-time World Champion Evan "M0nkey M00n" Rogez, Brice "ExoTiiK" Bigeard, and Rocket League legend Alexis "zen" Bernier. Their elimination was confirmed via a poignant tweet from Team Vitality, acknowledging their players’ efforts while thanking fans for their unwavering support.
Up until this point, NiP’s season had been anything but stellar. They failed to qualify for a single Rocket League LAN event this year, never rising above 5th place in the European rankings. Their improbable journey to the playoffs began with a Last Chance Qualifier victory over Team BDS, followed by Play-In wins against TSM and Virtus.Pro. A hard-fought series against NRG further solidified their unexpected resurgence. Their 3-1 victory over Vitality catapults them into the playoffs.
Andrea "Radosin" Radovanović, a key player in NiP’s upset victory, added another layer of drama to the story. Having previously won the World Championship with zen and Vitality in 2023, he was seen comforting his former teammate after the match, highlighting the emotional intensity of the competition.
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Vitality’s underperformance throughout the year culminated in this devastating defeat. Their best result was a fourth-place finish at the Esports World Cup, falling short against Team Falcons in a close 4-3 match. This is the first time M0nkey M00n has missed a World Championship final in the open era, a significant blow to both the player and the team.
The Vitality upset wasn’t the only shock of the tournament. The Ultimates and Wildcards pulled off stunning victories over Karmine Corp and Dignitas, respectively. KCorp, the Esports World Cup champions and pre-tournament favorites, were defeated 3-1 by The Ultimates. Dignitas, runners-up at the Raleigh Major, suffered a clean 3-0 sweep at the hands of Wildcards. Europe’s top two seeds, forced into the Lower Bracket, saw Dignitas eliminated after a close 3-2 loss to Geekay Esports, while KCorp faces a crucial match against FURIA for a playoff spot. The RLCS World Championship 2025 is proving to be a tournament full of unexpected twists and turns.
Jack Stewart, Senior Editor
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most proud of the latter.
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