KUALA LUMPUR – Gen.G continued their recent dominance over Paper Rex (PRX) at the Madrid Arena early this morning after defeating their Pacific League rivals 2-0 in the first round of the playoff stage at Masters Madrid.
PRX went head-to-head with the South Korean team, who beat them in the Pacific Kickoff Tournament last month, but failed to make an impact.
The Singapore-based team, represented by Malaysian Ahmad Khalish ‘d4v41’ Rusyaidee Nordin, Indonesians Jason ‘f0rsakeN’ Susanto, Aaron ‘mindfreak’ Leonhart, Cahya ‘Monyet’ Nugraha, and Russia’s Ilya ‘something’ Petrov, stumbled out of the gate, losing their map pick, Bind, with a score of 13-8.
Gen.G – Byeong “Munchkin” Sang-beom, Kim “t3xture” Na-ra, Kim “Meteor” Tae-O, Kim “Lakia” Jong-Min, and Kim “Karon” Won-tae – then started their map pick, Lotus, with a comfortable lead, posting an 8-4 score in the first half on the defensive side.
BPRX showed some fight to level the map 9-9, but that was only a momentary pause for Gen.G as they sealed the win 13-9.
In a post match interview, Sang-beom said that PRX’s mid match comeback was worrying, but they were able to adapt to it quickly.
“I think when PRX was making a comeback, we had some miscommunication and mistakes going on, but we were able to set it straight in the end.
“There is a bit of pressure, but it was not enough to crack us on the main stage.
“We are the type of team that will only grow stronger and stronger,” he said.
The win sends Gen.G to the upper bracket finals, where they will face the Sentinels later today at 11pm Malaysia time.
The defeat sends PRX to the lower bracket, where they have another chance to fight for their survival in the S-Tier tournament. They will play Loud early Saturday morning at 2am Malaysia time. – 22 March 2024