Paper Rex (PRX) survived another day after sending Kiwoom DRX (KRX) home, 2-1, to snatch the last ticket to the final four of VCT Pacific Stage 1 Playoffs.
Not long after getting dropped by Global Esports (GE) to the lower bracket, the Singaporean-based squad quickly regrouped and dispatched one of the two Korean teams left in contention for the title.
Ascent, as the first map pick of KRX, saw their opponents gaining the stronghold of the early stage of the match as PRX gained a 13-8 victory in the map.
Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto’s Omen performance produced a 21/14/17 statline and 284 ACS, along with Ilia “something” Petrov’s 20/10/1 KDA statline coming from a Yoru pick to help bolster the team early in the match.
The second map, Breeze, however, became a party for KRX as they equalized the series with a 13-5 scoreline to send the match to deciding map, Split.
The first six rounds of Breeze saw a back-and-forth battle between the both squads through the first six rounds, before the Korean team rode over the next nine rounds before eventually sealing the victory.
The decider map featured Split and had PRX rampaging throughout the game, giving a 13-1 domination with the seventh round being the lone point for the Korean squad and eventually securing the series victory.
The victory propelled PRX to become the last team to join the Finals Weekend in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, along with Global Esports, Full Sense, and with T1, who now stands in their way towards London.
In the post-match interview, PRX’s Assistant Coach Ashton “Wendler” Wendler told the players during the break from second map and heading to the decider to take one round at a time.
Despite being shaken up from their performance in Breeze, he stresses the need to work twice as hard towards the final map in getting back to the form that the players are in.
“The big thing was just reminding the guys that there’s no pressure regardless of what the results of that map, like if we lost Split, we didn’t make to Vietnam, or if we did win, we’d make Vietnam,” said Wendler. “It was about building up each round, to make sure we get back to the fundamentals that we know.
Invy sets sights on second Masters appearance
Filipino ace Adrian Jiggs “invy” Reyes eyes for a return to the Masters stage following their team’s heartbreaking finals loss against fellow Pacific team Nongshim Redforce earlier this year in Masters Santiago.
With their win against KRX, Invy has the chance to join Xavier “xavi8k” Juan and Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza of GE as the homegrown Filipino Valorant players to compete at the second major tournament of the season.
All three players are products of Challengers Philippines and Challengers Southeast Asia, as Invy and xavi8k have both played for Oasis Gaming, while PatMen became part of ZOL Esports.
“I think it’s great for the Philippines so they can see that our country is competitive, like we can compete among the best,” Invy shared in Filipino. “And if we qualify for London, we really want to show how powerful Filipinos are.
The VCT Pacific Stage 1 Finals Weekend is set for May 15-17, 2026, at Ho Chi Minh.
The top three teams in Stage 1 will qualify for Masters London slated for June 6-21. Meanwhile, the champions of Stage 1 will earn their ticket to the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh later in July. (By Clyde Jan Pascual, INQUIRER.net Intern)