MANILA, Philippines – VCT Pacific Stage 1 continued with Filipino players going head-to-head in the opening match.
The Pinoys face off
Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza and Xavier “xavi8k” Juan went up against VCT Pacific’s PH reps Team Secret to start the week.
Global Esports started off hot in their map pick of Split, taking six straight rounds in the opening half. TS were able to pick off a few rounds, but the half ended 9-3. Things started to look up for TS, who took three rounds to open the second half.
Off the back of Kale “autumn” Dunne and Savva “Kr1stal” Fedorov, however, GE were able to hold off the executes from TS, retaking sites handily with Kr1stal’s Fade and autumn’s Veto. The map would then go the way of GE, 13-9.
The outlook was the same in the second map, with GE hitting a late round win streak in the first half to finish 8-4, despite Secret’s best retake attempts.
A four-round rally from TS in the second half would put them within two rounds, but that would be the closest they would get, as GE would close out the map and the series 13-9 again. Go “UdoTan” Kyungwon finished with 20/12/7 on 249 ACS, and Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza performed on his signature Fade, getting a game-high 250 ACS for 17/15/14.
Gen.G outlast Paper Rex
Two fan-favorite teams went head-to-head in Week 2, with Gen.G looking to bounce back after a tough loss in the opening week, and Paper Rex aiming to ride their momentum.
The first map, Haven, went all the way to quadruple OT, neither team wanting to give the opening map to the other. GEN started off with a quick 1-2 opening pistol and buy, but PRX answered with four straight, highlighted by their smart retakes.
The two teams then traded round-for–round, with the half finishing 7-5 in favor of PRX. The second half mirrored the first, with PRX starting off strong, GEN rallying back with their retakes, followed by trades, eventually reaching a 12-12 stalemate to go to overtime. The trading would continue, until GEN finally broke through to take the map 17-15.
Kim “t3xture” Na-ra finished with a game-high 32/22/6 on 273 ACS, besting Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee, who had 30/22/3 on 243 ACS.
The next map would be a complete turn from the first, as PRX dominated their Fracture pick. Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie popped off for 23/10/4 on 390 ACS, the highest of the weekend, to finish the map 13-3.
Their celebration would be cut short, however, as GEN answered with a 13-3 win of their own to close out the series. Kim “ZynX” Dongha shone as the rookie finished with 19/12/6 on 302 ACS.
Other matches
T1 continued their win streak after sweeping DFM. Ibuki “Meiy” Seki and Amon “Caedye” Okakura both dropped 23 kills each in the first map, but the duo’s performance fell just short as TI were able to overcome the Japanese team 15-13 in overtime. T1’s duelist Yu “BuZz” Byungchul finished with 43/36/8 in the matchup.
In a three-game thriller, Kiwoom DRX denied Nongshim RedForce a reverse sweep. With three maps going 11-13, 15-13, and 10-13, the two Korean teams played the set for almost three hours.
KRX’s Kim “Yong” Hoyong and Song “HYUNMIN” Hyunmin led the lobby with 60 kills apiece in the series. Nongshim’s Lee “Dambi” Hyukkyu followed closely behind with 59/63/12 on a lobby-high 235 ACS.
Despite two close maps, RRQ were able to hold back VARREL, 2-0. RRQ’s Maksim “Jemkin” Batorov and VL’s Shin “oonzmlp” Sang-beom went on a tear for their teams, dropping 56/35/10 on 291 ACS and 55/36/11 on 287 ACS, respectively.
Tanate “killua” Teerasawad and Papaphat “Primmie” Sriprapha combined for 83 kills as FULL SENSE dispatched ZETA DIVISION in two quick games, finishing Fracture 13-6 and Split 13-7.
VCT Pacific Stage 1 will continue on April 17