KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Ahmad Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee Nordin could not lead his Paper Rex (PRX) team to victory in the final of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific Kickoff tournament today.
They lost 3-1 to South Koreans Gen.G despite going into the final as hot favourites.
PRX – represented by Ahmad Khalish, Indonesians Jason “F0rsaken” Susanto, Aaron “Mindfreak” Leonhart and Cahya “Monyet” Nugraha, as well as Russia’s Ilya “Something” Petrov – were outclassed by Gen.G in the final.
Going into the clash, PRX only dropped one map en route to the final dispatching first Gen.G in the group stage then T1 in the semifinals.
However, Gen.G had a longer route to the final after losing to PRX, having to first beat Indonesian team Rex Regum Qeon to enter the play-in stage.
There they recorded a flawless 2-0 record, winning against Team Secret and Zeta Division to enter the semifinals against countrymates and powerhouse team DRX.
Gen.G’s roster of Kim “Meteor” Tae-o, Kim “T3xture” Na-ra, Kim “Lakia” Jong-min, Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom, Kim “Karon” Won-tae shocked everyone by dominating last season’s Pacific League losing finalists 2-0.
In the Kickoff final today, Gen.G started strongly by winning their map pick Ascend 13-5, but PRX rebounded quickly in their pick of Split 13-4 to tie the score 1-1.
However, the tide turned in favour of Gen.G after they won a tightly contested Lotus 13-11. They sealed the win on PRX’s map pick Bind 13-4 for a dominant 3-1 win over last season’s World Championships runners-up.
Rookie Won-tae was also named Kickoff’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his contribution to Gen.G’s win.
“I can’t believe that I’m named tournament MVP because I really feel like it is a team effort. It wasn’t just me.
“I want to thank the fans, they are the reason I got here and reach the best that I can show but there is more from me.
“I always have to strive for more. I want to show even better performances (in the future),” said the 21-year-old.
Both teams will represent the Pacific League at Masters Madrid with Gen.G receiving the higher seed out of the two by being Kickoff winners, the team also gets three early league points.
The best eight teams from the VCT four regional leagues (North America (NA), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), China and Pacific) will converge in Madrid from March 14 until 24 for the first Masters event of the year. – February 25, 2024