KUALA LUMPUR – Singapore’s Paper Rex (PRX) now consider South Korea’s Generation Gaming (Gen.G) as their rival, according to the team’s Malaysian star Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee Nordin.
This comes after they defeated the South Koreans 3-2 in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific League mid-season grand finals at the COEX Artium in Seoul, South Korea yesterday.
PRX – represented by Khalish, Singaporean Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie, Indonesians Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto, Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart, and Russia’s Ilya “something” Petrov – could not find a way past Gen.G earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, Gen.G – represented by Byeong “Munchkin” Sang-beom, Kim “t3xture” Na-ra, Kim “Meteor” Tae-o, Kim “Lakia” Jong-min, and Kim “Karon” Won-tae – defeated PRX in the Kickoff Grand Finals in February.
Then, at Masters Madrid in March, they once again got the better of last season’s Pacific League champions in the playoff stage.
However, after the return of Jing Jie to the PRX roster, things quickly changed.
Since the league started, PRX are unbeaten against the Masters Madrid runners-up, which began with a 2-1 win in week two of the league before yesterday’s triumph.
“Gen.G are very tough opponents. Every time we meet them in the final, we always try to counter each other’s strategy.
“You have to outsmart them and also think about your game plan too.
“It was a hard game. It could have easily been 3-2 for them.
“Definitely, they are our rival now. It used to be DRX, but now I would say it is Gen.G,” said Kelantan-born Khalish, who dedicated the win to his mother on Mother’s Day yesterday.
PRX, Gen.G, and T1 will represent the Pacific League at Masters Shanghai in 10 days.
They will be joined by the other top three finishers from the VCT’s other regional leagues (Americas, EMEA, China) to vie for glory.
PRX’s victory sets them up nicely for the tournament as they do not have to contest the Swiss Stage and go straight into the playoffs.
PRX will be looking for their first international title after losing both previous grand final appearances – at Masters Copenhagen in 2022 and last year’s World Championships. – May 13, 2024