Paper Rex reverse sweeps FURIA, advance to the next round of playoffs
MANILA, Philippines – Paper Rex (PRX) continues their win streak after a 2-1 win over FURIA (FUR) to start the VALORANT Masters Santiago Playoffs stage, March 7, 2026.
Paper Rex vs FURIA
As the first-seeded team from the Americas Kickoff qualifier, FURIA received a playoff berth and chose to match up against PRX in the Playoffs draw.
The series started off with PRX’s map pick of Haven, and they began with a 5-1 lead. Momentum would swing to FUR’s side, who would tie up the score at the half, and close out the map 13-9.
Moving on to FUR’s map pick of Breeze, PRX turned the tables, only giving up four rounds. They tied up the series against the Americas first-seed after big performances from Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie and Ilia “something” Petrov, dropping 20 and 17 kills on 286 and 267 ACS, respectively.
The deciding game went to Split. PRX had the comfort advantage, holding a 68 percent win rate (76-35) on the map, versus FURIA’s 52 percent (17-16).
PRX started strong, opening with two round wins. Although they dropped the bonus, they bounced back for the buy round. Things would go quickly out of hand as FURIA members would pop off, hitting all their shots and winning all their duels. They would win six straight rounds, but PRX managed to bring it close, ending the half 7-5.
The Pacific squad would then show off their mastery of Split, winning eight straight rounds on attack, ending the game 13-7.
With the win, they have now beaten every Americas team in the tournament, and extend their win streak against the region to 6-0, dating back to Masters Toronto in June 2025.
Nongshim RedForce vs Gentle Mates
The first seed from the Pacific made their international debut, taking on Gentle Mates (M8).
M8 came out the gate swinging, firing up a 4-0 start in Haven. With adjustments and a read on M8, Nongshim RedForce (NS) were able to bounce back and finish the half 7-5. Opening up the second half with pistol and buy round wins put NS in a comfortable lead.
The two teams then proceeded to exchange rounds but in the end the Korean squad were able to close it out, 13-10. M8’s Martin “marteen” Pátek put up a game-high 341 ACS with a 28/18/6 KDA.
Corrode started off similarly with a 4-1 start for M8, but it was the EMEA squad who had the 7-5 lead coming into the half. However, NS were able to rebound again on attack, securing the 13-10 map win and the 2-0 series win.
A strong two-way plan from NS secured the win, with Park “Ivy” Sunghyeon controlling sites on Killjoy and Viper, finishing 46/29/11 on 272 ACS in the series, and Lee “Dambi” Hyukkyu showing off his Neon on the international stage with 41/32/8 on 233 ACS.
Masters Santiago Playoffs
The Playoffs continues March 8, 1 a.m. PHT with NRG taking on EMEA first-seed BBL Esports, and G2 Esports going up against CN first-seed All Gamers.
Winners of each match will advance to take on Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce, respectively. Losers join Gentle Mates and FURIA in the Lower Bracket on March 9.
