History was made as DRX, the king of Valorant Asia, was finally dethroned by Southeast Asia’s finest, Paper Rex, in a thrilling grand final of the Valorant Champions Tour Pacific 2023 in Seoul, South Korea last night, after two years of waiting.
In a surprising turn of events, DRX, who breezed through the VCT Pacific 2023 Regular Season, was defeated by Paper Rex 2-0 in the upper bracket final. They had to work hard to beat T1 in the lower bracket final to earn a rematch against the Singaporean team in the grand final.
The win was especially meaningful for Paper Rex’s duelist, Ilya “something” Petrov, and Ahmad Khalish “d4v4i” Rusyaidee. Something was awarded the series MVP with 95 kills throughout VCT Pacific 2023. Meanwhile, d4v4i captured a moving moment when his mother, who had flown from Malaysia to Seoul, witnessed his first international victory in person.
A Turn of Events
DRX dominated Paper Rex in the early rounds of game 1 on the Fracture map. Two DRX players, Goo “Rb” Sang-min and Byung-chul “Buzz” Yu, seemed to have a deep understanding of Paper Rex’s playstyle on this map. DRX won the first game 13-6.
Rb and Buzz once again displayed exceptional gameplay in the second game on the Ascent map. Despite Paper Rex’s aggressive response, the two players managed to overcome the high tension with their individual brilliance. Buzz’s Jett stole the spotlight in overtime as he landed a crucial ace. DRX won the second game 16-14.
The spectators’ roars intensified as the match reached match point. DRX appeared more confident in front of their home audience. However, Paper Rex revealed their true colors in a desperate push.
In the third game, Paper Rex cranked up their aggressive play and asserted dominance on their favorite map, Lotus. Wang “Jinggg” Jing’s outstanding performance dismantled DRX’s defense. The third match ended with a commanding 13-3 victory for Paper Rex.
Paper Rex’s momentum continued into the fourth game played on DRX’s favored map, Pearl. Although DRX trailed 8-3 behind Paper Rex in the first half, they rallied and closed the gap to 8-7. However, they struggled to capitalize on the momentum and failed to turn things around. Paper Rex won the fourth game 13-8.
Bind became the deciding map in the final game. Despite DRX’s strong record on this map, they were caught off guard by d4v4i, who tore them apart with Skye. The Malaysian quickly propelled Paper Rex, starting as defenders, to a 6-0 advantage.
DRX attempted to overcome Paper Rex in the second half during the pistol rounds, but d4v4i and something shattered DRX’s defense. Paper Rex secured a 13-6 victory in the last game, completing a reverse sweep with a final score of 3-2.
The results marked Paper Rex’s second major win in the last seven months, and their first in the VCT Pacific tournament. Previously, they defied expectations by winning the Valorant Invitational in Mumbai, India, in November 2022.
Paper Rex will claim the grand prize of USD 250,000 and join Team Liquid, Loud, and Fnatic as the first seed for the Valorant Masters 2023 in Tokyo, Japan, in June.
