VCT Masters Berlin hadn’t seen such a tight match until Paper Rex and SuperMassive Blaze faced off today. Both VALORANT teams had their backs against the wall in a high-stakes series where the loser got a plane ticket home.
SuperMassive Blaze took down Paper Rex 2-1 in a close match where both teams put up a massive fight. Aside from the second map on Breeze, the fight to stay in the tournament was vigorous on both sides.
Because Paper Rex didn’t advance in the Masters Berlin tournament, they’ve also failed to secure a spot in VCT Champions later this year.
Bren Esports were unable to attend Masters Berlin due to visa issues, the team disbanded but were picked up again by Team Secret. Because eligibility is tied to the players and not the team, Team Secret were able to keep the circuit points they earned playing as Bren Esports.
Tied with 225 circuit points each, Paper Rex needed to beat SuperMassive Blaze to secure a spot at Champions. Because they couldn’t earn any points by exiting the group stage, the tiebreaker fell to their Challengers playoffs performance. Team Secret, then Bren Esports, beat Paper Rex in the playoffs for the SEA region, and therefore, Team Secret have secured their spot in VCT Champions.
Luckily, someone woke up Paper Rex’s Benedict “Benkai” Tan just in time this morning, as evidenced by his bathrobe. He brushed his teeth while entering the stage along with some teammates who played along. Many competitive VALORANT fans are sad to see them go, especially after getting joy out of moments like this.
SuperMassive Blaze will now move on to the bracket playoffs after their win over Paper Rex, although the victory didnt come easily. Paper Rex came back from behind and were able to take the win off of SuperMassive Blaze’s map pick on Haven. The teams went to overtime and ended with Paper Rex taking it 14-12.
But Paper Rex weren’t able to get anything done on their map pick, Breeze. SMB gave Paper Rex a proper stomp and took that map 13-2. The match was so bad on Paper Rex’s side that Zhan Teng “shiba” Toh didn’t even get a single kill on Breeze.
The last map brought back the competition with a revitalized Paper Rex playing like a team with their backs up against the wall. This was one of the most back-and-forth matches of the entire tournament so far. Every round was a toss-up and neither team was able to pick up momentum for long, making this map a nail-biter. SMB ended up taking it 13-10, securing a spot in the playoff bracket.
Paper Rex now must go home and prepare for the Last Chance Qualifier, which gives them one more opportunity to qualify for Champions. SMB will have a lot more work to do as well to get to Champions since the rest of the EMEA region teams in Masters still have a shot at locking in a spot at the end-of-year event.
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