Team Liquid has been eliminated from the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Masters Toronto after losing to Pacific’s Paper Rex.
British player Georgio ‘keiko’ Sanassy was the star of the team, giving Team Liquid a chance to proceed in the tournament.
In an intense series that saw each player give their all, it was Paper Rex that came out on top to defeat Team Liquid 2-1.
Team Liquid secure Split in overtime
Fans will soon ask, ‘Where were you when Team Liquid faced Paper Rex?’
In a series like no other, each side fought hard for the final spot in the playoffs.
Momentum was key as both sides would build upon each round that they could steal from the other.
After comfortably taking the first pistol round on map one, Split, Team Liquid would go on to take the first three rounds.
Paper Rex would come back to take all but one of the remaining rounds in the first half.
Thanks in part to Wang ‘Jinggg’ Jing Jie cleaning house with the Bucky on what was meant to be an eco round for the team.
Keiko would attempt some heroics in the 8th round, leading to him clutching the round for Team Liquid.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough as the first half ended 8-4 in favour of Paper Rex, leaving Team Liquid on the back foot.
The second half would be more explosive than the last, as Team Liquid took each round one step at a time.
Keiko would continue to take risks to bring it back for his team.
Going as far as to run headfirst towards the enemy, faking being an echo to reposition and gain crucial information.
Coming down to the wire, the Brit once again took it upon himself to take down every member of Paper Rex and forced the game into overtime.
Eventually, it came down to a 2v2 with Team Liquid’s Kamil ‘kamo’ Frąckowiak and Maikls ‘Serial’ Zdanovs, against Paper Rex’s Jason ‘f0rsakeN’ Susanto and Patrick ‘PatMen’ Mendoza.
As Team Liquid looked to push and retake the A-site, trades went down with only Serial left to defuse and take the first map for Team Liquid.
Paper Rex fights back on Sunset
Team Liquid was unprepared for Paper Rex’s wrath on the second map, Sunset.
Paper Rex was clearly familiar with the map, showing some unique angles to slow down Team Liquid’s advance.
The teams would once again go back and forth, with Team Liquid setting up a nasty crossfire to take the lead in the first half.
Little did Team Liquid know that this would be the last round they would win on Sunset.
Paper Rex hit back hard to dominate the rest of the game, giving Team Liquid no chance to breathe.
Finally, Paper Rex swept Team Liquid to take the second map 13-5.
Overtime on the final map on Lotus
As opposed to the previous maps, Lotus would prove to be a strong map for whoever was on the defending side.
Both teams held dominant streaks when defending the bomb sites, making it a stressful viewing for fans.
The match would also see the debut of Valorant’s latest agent as kamo picked up Waylay for the final map.
Paper Rex would take the first half with Khalish ‘d4v41’ Rusyaidee bolstering his stats with a 4k along the way.
Ending the first half 11-1, it felt over for Team Liquid.
However, the team wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Taking round by round until it became almost even.
Whilst this was happening, kamo secured himself the first ever competitive ace with Waylay.
Eventually, Team Liquid would do the unthinkable as they won nine rounds in a row to force the game into overtime and stay in the match.
Emotions were high as even the coaches were showing signs of breaking.
Unfortunately for keiko and Team Liquid, it was not meant to be, as Paper Rex found their footing once more to take the match and series.
Whilst a disappointment for Team Liquid, they provided fans with one of the best matches of the tournament.
Masters Toronto Playoffs
After the final match of the Swiss Stage, each of the top-seeded teams sent one of their coaches onto the stage to pick their opponents.
Unlike other draws, teams would publicly pick their opponents live on stage, with the order determined at random.
This made for an interesting draw as China’s Xi Lai Gaming were quick to select the Americas’ Sentinels.
Taking many by surprise, as Sentinels were one of the stronger teams from the Swiss Stage, so far going without a single map loss.
Next up was Rex Regum Qeon as Pacific’s first seed.
After the brief birthday celebrations for coach Marthinus ‘Ewok’ Walt, they selected Wolves Esports.
Wolves Esports being the only team left that wasn’t from the Pacific region.
Giving fans the maximum amount of international matches.
After literally staring down each other, in a mostly loving way, it was G2 Esports that were chosen to select next.
Leaving Fnatic as the only team not to pick their opponent.
G2 Esports would pick Paper Rex as a continuation of their rivalry, which goes back to VCT Masters Shanghai.
The then first seed Paper Rex was defeated by second seed G2 Esports and knocked down to the lower bracket, leading to the end of their tournament run.
Meanwhile, another rivalry from VCT Masters Shanghai would return as Fnatic were left to face undefeated Gen.G Esports.
The matchups for the VCT Master Toronto Playoffs are:
- Fnatic vs Gen.G Esports
- G2 Esports vs Paper Rex
- Xi Lai Gaming vs Sentinels
- Rex Regum Qeon vs Wolves Esports
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Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with many incredible individuals who continue to humble me to this day. Because of them, I’ve had the energy to turn a hobby into a career. I work to honour those who have given me a chance and thrive thanks to the community.
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