Only two squads are left vying for the championship at the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2024 Pacific Kickoff following the Playoff semifinals on Saturday (24 February).
Paper Rex from Singapore and Gen.G from South Korea, both notable powerhouses in the tournament, are set to clash at the Grand Finals. They both made it given their clean sweep victories over T1 and DRX respectively. Both of them have secured their spots at VCT Masters Madrid in March.
In the Group Stage, Paper Rex and Gen.G were part of Group C; Paper Rex emerged victorious over Gen.G in the Winner’s Match which led to their automatic progression to the Playoffs, while Gen.G was forced to compete in the Play-ins.
In the meantime, T1 and DRX both secured their spots in the Playoffs after clinching top seeds in Group A and B respectively.
During the Play-ins, Gen.G managed to defeat the Philippines’ Team Secret in a tight 2-1 match, then securing a 2-0 victory over Japan’s ZETA DIVISION; this granted them a spot in the Playoffs.
The first Playoff semifinals match had Paper Rex competing against T1 on the Split map. Despite a daring decision by Paper Rex to use a triple duelist composition, T1 set a strong pace, leading 8-4 at halftime.
Paper Rex then swiftly capitalised on various strategies, battling back against T1 in the second half and grabbing the lead at 9-8 after 17 rounds. From that point on, each team fought fiercely, ending in a 12-12 tie and forcing the game into an extra time period.
Nonetheless, Paper Rex managed to reign supreme by bearing their opponents during a second overtime period to seize the initial map of the series with a 16-14 score.
In the subsequent Ascent match, Paper Rex maintained their momentum, triumphing over T1 in the first half with an 8-4 lead. T1 struggled to retaliate in the second half, managing only two wins and eventually succumbing to Paper Rex, who capped off the series with a 13-6 win.
Jason “f0rsaken” Susanto was the standout performer as he racked up 21 kills and an ACS of 286 to merit the match MVP title, all while suffering only eleven deaths.
The day’s second matchup saw Gen.G competing against DRX, their South Korean compatriots. The series started on an even keel as DRX had a marginal 7-5 advantage at the end of the first half.
The second half was also keenly contested, with Gen.G matching DRX and even as far as pushing the game to extra time. Gen.G capitalized on this momentum, eventually sealing the first game with a 14-12 win.
For the second round on Lotus, Gen.G leveraged their victorious momentum from the first round and quickly built a solid 9-3 lead in the first half. Despite a resurgence from DRX post-switch, winning five rounds, they were unable to deter Gen.G from closing the series with a 13-8 win on the map.
Kim “t3xture” Na-ra showcased a valiant performance, earning him MVP status with 28 kills, an ACS of 297, and just 18 deaths.
DRX and T1 concluded their VCT Pacific Kickoff competition run, sharing 3rd and 4th places.
Although both Paper Rex and Gen.G have now qualified for VCT Masters Madrid as the top two teams from the VCT Pacific Kickoff, they are set to square off at the Grand Finals on Sunday (25 February) at 3:00 PM Singapore Time.
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