For the first time in a while, Paper Rex (PRX) met a familiar squad on the Esports World Cup (EWC) stage: Korean team Gen.G.

Bannering the same region, the Pacific titans engaged in a derby for third place in the inaugural Valorant tournament last July 13 at Boulevard Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia. Gen.G came out on top with a close 2-0 sweep.

For the first time in the tournament, Paper Rex dropped their map pick Sunset, 10-13, as the Koreans ran away in Ascent later in the match with an 8-13 victory to seal the bronze.  

Falling short of the podium is no problem for Paper Rex, however. They will be leaving Riyadh US$70,000 (roughly P3.9 million) richer with a ton of experience under their belt.

Gen.G took home $130,000 (P7.3 million) while runner-up Fnatic got a share of $230,000 (P13 million). Champion Team Heretics netted $500,000 (P28.3 million) and a personalized trophy featuring the remains of the tournament keys from Edward Gaming, Fnatic and Gen.G.

No excuses, no regrets 

Mixed emotions swept PRX veteran Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee as they concluded their international stints with Masters Toronto and EWC just one week apart.

“It’s a [feeling] of both [happy and sad], like obviously I’m very satisfied and also tired,” said the 26-year-old Rusyaidee. “But I’m pretty sure it applies to some of the teams that came from Toronto as well, so no excuses.”

PRX has been on the road nonstop since the VCT Pacific: Stage 1 last March. With the addition of Filipino Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza, the team met their worst Group Phase start, logging a 0-3 slate. 

The Singapore-based group was pushed to the brink by Detonation FocusMe in the elimination series, where they had to overcome a 9-12 deficit on Pearl to avoid a 0-4 hole and spark their playoff hopes.

That small charge was enough to power the Southeast Asia hopefuls. Paper Rex found themselves a place in Toronto and claimed their first international championship.

PRX was poised for back-to-back titles as they tore through the group stage and quarterfinals in EWC undefeated. They set up a rematch with Masters Toronto finalists Fnatic in the semis but eventually fell victim to a 2-1 reverse sweep.

“Obviously, we want to win everything but it’s hard you know, everyone’s working hard,” Rusyaidee said.

Instead of bitterness from defeat, D4v4i found gratitude in everything they had gone through for the past four months. “Overall, it’s been a good year for us so no complaints,” he said. “[…] I’m very happy with the way we performed so yeah, no regrets.”

He thanked their supporters, some of whom flew from all over the world to watch them live on stage. “I’m pretty sure the rest of the boys are also happy to see you guys out here today, and of course the ones who are staying awake to some random timing [to watch our games.]”

No rest for the weary

D4v4i and Paper Rex are already booking their flights back to South Korea as the Stage 2 of VCT Pacific kicks off on July 15. Despite fighting for their tournament lives daily for the past week, the eagerness for competition is still there for the W Gaming squad.

“[We] can’t wait to play, so probably [we’re] just gonna try to get some sleep on the plane and yeah, good to go,” said Rusyaidee.

Aside from the goal of qualifying for Valorant Champions in Paris, D4v4i will try to add a side quest for Stage 2 to finally solve the Gen.G puzzle.

“I think they are our fathers,” he said. “They keep on reading us like a book and they played very well.”

Gen.G has won five consecutive series against Paper Rex, dating back to the second stage of VCT Pacific 2024. PRX opens Stage 2 against T1 on July 16 at Sangam Colosseum in Seoul.