PARIS, France – Fueled by the drive to stay in contention, Paper Rex (PRX) was propelled forward in their Valorant Champions campaign after a 2-1 victory was secured in a do-or-die lower bracket playoffs against Team Heretics (TH) on September 29.
The best-of-three series was controlled by PRX on Ascent, 13-11, dropped on Bind, 9-13, and sealed on Lotus, 13-4, keeping the squad alive following a painful upper semifinal setback against FNATIC.
Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto was credited as PRX’s engine, recording 53 kills with a 1.22 match rating, 245 ACS, 78% KAST, and 153 ADR.
Meanwhile, Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee was relied upon as the anchor, contributing 52 kills, 21 assists, 235 ACS, and 154 ADR, numbers that helped crucial rounds to be secured and the team’s struggles eased.
In the post-match press conference at VCT Champions Paris 2025, f0rsakeN emphasized Paper Rex remains committed to their ultimate goal and winning and losing are part of competition.
“We know that this is a competition — anyone can win or lose — but at the same time we have our goal which is to win this trophy,” he said.
The opening blows on Ascent were taken by Heretics, whose double-Duelist pressure resulted in an 8-4 advantage at halftime.
The tide, however, was turned when an ace by f0rsakeN forced a tie at 11-11, before Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza’s final strike sealed a 13-11 win to hand PRX the series lead.
Momentum was then regained by TH on Bind, as PRX’s errors were capitalized on, highlighted by Mert “Wo0t” Alkan’s clutch that closed the map 13-9 and forced the Lotus decider.
On the final map, momentum was shifted once more by PatMen, whose pivotal round gave PRX their first 5-4 lead. This was reinforced by d4v41’s Operator plays, which carried the squad to an 8-4 halftime advantage.
The last blow was delivered by Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie in a pistol duel, extinguishing TH’s hopes and enabling PRX to storm to a 13-4 finish that sealed both the map and the series.
With the win, Paper Rex’s lower bracket journey was extended to a semifinal face-off against the winner of MIBR versus DRX, while Team Heretics’ campaign was ended in heartbreak with a 5th–6th place finish.
Article by Angelica Labide