It was a Paper Rex masterclass as the VCT Pacific squad send home LOUD.

Paper Rex live on to fight another day at VCT Masters Madrid after they defeated LOUD to book a top-three spot in the tournament. They will now go up against another VCT Americas squad in Sentinels, which they last played against at the AfreecaTV VALORANT League grand finals. PRX will also have a chance to make it two-for-two VCT grand finals if they are able to get the better of Sentinels tomorrow.

And their win against LOUD was a significant stamp of PRX’s arrival at the tournament. Despite making it to the playoffs, the VCT Pacific squad have been far from consistent while all three wins in the Swiss Stage were close 2–1 victories. This was their first 2-0 of the tournament and it was against one of the most in-form teams right now. To put it into further perspective, LOUD were able to eliminate EDward Gaming, the same team that defeated PRX in their opening match-up.

LOUD got Paper Wrecked

The first match happened on LOUD’s choice of Ascent, a map they were 0–1 heading into the series. However, they proved to be a worthy contender for PRX during the later rounds of the first half. Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto kicked things off for PRX in the opening pistol round with a 4K, which snowballed into the team winning the subsequent round after that. While Gabriel “qck” Lima managed to pull one back in the third round with a two-versus-one clutch, it wasn’t enough to stop PRX from getting three in a row straight after that.

Cahya “Monyet” Nugraha was also on top form today with a 4K of his own in the fifth round. With a 5–1 win after six rounds, LOUD managed to even the score at the break by taking five of the next six rounds. PRX took the first two rounds of the second half but was stopped by Arthur “tuyz” Vieira in the 15th with a clinical 3K to keep the score close. PRX ended up taking the 16th before LOUD went nuclear with four rounds in a row.

With the score 11–9 in favour of LOUD, PRX would mount what can be considered a classic late-game resurgence as they managed to pull four rounds straight and win the first match. Sunset have been PRX’s bread and butter this season with only one loss so far and it was a strong second map choice for them in the series.

But it was LOUD who got the ball rolling with an opening pistol round win that was followed by back-to-back-to-back thrifties as both teams traded round wins back and forth. LOUD accrued a 4–2 lead after six rounds but PRX managed to put a stop to that in the seventh. This was despite Felipe “Less” Basso getting a 4K the round before and an ace right after, but the last kill happened after the timer.

PRX went on to win the next four rounds in a row that also involved Ilya “something” Petrov with a 4K to his name in the ninth round. However, they couldn’t take the final round of the first half, which meant their lead was a slim one at 7–5. While they did manage to take two quick rounds to start the second-half that also saw something get a 3K in the pistol round, LOUD managed to respond with two of their own.

With the score at 9–7 in favour of PRX, Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart was able to put the team on his back with a seamless four-versus-one clutch to put the momentum firmly in his team’s favour. PRX would go on to win two more to put themselves at match-point courtesy of a 3K from f0rsakeN, but Cauan “cauanzin” Pereira managed to sneak one round back for LOUD with a 4K. Sadly, it wasn’t enough for LOUD to rally behind as they got silenced from another something 3K that was enough to seal the series.

Paper Rex will now face Sentinels in a best-of-five lower bracket final series to determine who will go on to face Gen.G Esports in the grand finals. PRX will want to settle the score against Gen.G after they got dropped to the lower bracket as well as losing the VCT Pacific Kickoff grand finals to them in the last month alone. Sentinels will also have a point to prove against Gen.G after their upper bracket final loss.

Lower Bracket Final (Saturday, March 23)

Paper Rex vs Sentinels – 4:00 p.m. CEST

• SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
• PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
• PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
• PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
• PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
• Source: https://www.gosugamers.net/valorant/news/70910-paper-rex-move-on-at-vct-masters-madrid