Valorant Masters Toronto champion Paper Rex (PRX) opened their Esports World Cup 2025 campaign with a victory over China’s Bilibili Gaming, 1-0, on July 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PRX, which has Filipino Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza among its players, shrugged off an early four-round deficit on Lotus as they mounted a strong attack to close the match in triple overtime, 16-14.

The Pacific giants will face either G2 or Karmine Corp in the winner’s match on July 9 to determine the first team heading to the playoffs.

Southeast Asia’s Talon Esports (TLN) split their opening series against Natus Vincere, 1-1.

After an endgame collapse in Game 1, Talon struck back with a dominating Game 2 performance to end the best-of-2 matchup with a draw.

TLN will continue their group stage action against Team Spirit on July 9.

Read more: For first Filipino player in Valorant Masters grand finals, taunts and pressure are no problem