Nongshim RedForce sweep Paper Rex to win VALORANT Masters Santiago

MANILA, Philippines – Nongshim RedForce (NS) defeated Paper Rex (PRX) in a 3-0 outing to lift the VALORANT Masters Santiago trophy.

Pacific vs Pacific Grand Final

With Nongshim’s undefeated run and Paper Rex’s Lower Bracket crawl, the stage was set for a regional matchup in the Grand Final. This would be the first time they would face each other on the VCT stage, avoiding matchups in the regional VCT Pacific tournaments.

The match would begin with an NS map pick, Corrode. PRX started off hot, stringing together round winstreaks for an 8-4 first half on defense. A pistol and buy round win would set the tone for NS in the second half, and despite a couple of clutch rounds from PRX, the Korean squad would ride the momentum to a 13-11 win. Jung “Xross” Hwan lead the way with 25/16/4 on 259 ACS. 

PRX would have the opportunity to tie up the series as they headed to Split for the second set. NS, however, would be the ones taking control as they start off with six straight round wins. A big 2v1 clutch from Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie in Round 7 put PRX on the board, but Nongshim’s economy lead was far too big for PRX to overcome and the half would end 9-3.

The Ascension squad would make quick work of PRX in the second half, securing the 13-4 win to get to match point. Park “Ivy” Sung-hyeon finished with a game-high 19/8/2 on 290 ACS. Good team contribution was vital for the win, with all five NS members finishing with positive +/- stats.

With momentum and map pick advantage on their side, Nongshim RedForce looked to close out the series.

Abyss started out with a pistol and buy round win for NS, and a bonus round win for PRX. A strong site hold from Ivy’s Cypher and Lee “Dambi” Hyuk-kyu’s Waylay would secure the round for NS, and kickstart the momentum once again. PRX had no answer for Nongshim’s defense and rotations as the first half would end 10-2. 

Backs against the wall, PRX were able to secure a retake in the first round of the second half. But it would be too little too late as a thrifty win would carry NS to the end, finishing the map 13-3, and the series 3-0.

Nongshim RedForce’s historic ascension

With the win, NS became the first-ever Ascension team to win an international event. They entered the VCT Pacific league through the 2024 Ascension tournament, with the core of Dambi, Ivy, and Francis competing under Sin Prisa Gaming. 

Upon entry to Tier 1 they would be picked up by South Korean esports organization Nongshim RedForce. With their standing for 2025, they were once again relegated, but were able to qualify for Ascension due to their Stage 2 Playoffs performance. From there, they once again qualified to the 2026 VCT Pacific season.

Nongshim’s road to Masters was also just as dominant as their tournament run. With the Pacific Kickoff’s triple elimination format, they ran through the qualifying without dropping a single match. The Korean squad won against Team Secret (2-0), T1 (2-1), FULL SENSE (2-0), and RRQ (3-2) to become the region’s first seed for Santiago.

It was there that they proved their dominance, continuing their undefeated run to the trophy, winning against Gentle Mates (2-0), G2 Esports (2-1), NRG (2-0), and PRX (3-0).