Paper Rex first team to advance to VALORANT Masters Toronto Final

VALORANT Masters Toronto has determined its first Grand Final participant as Paper Rex (PRX) wins today’s Upper Bracket Final against Wolves Esports.

VCT Pacific’s ferocious PRX train made a convincing 2-0 statement during the best-of-three (BO3) series against its fellow Swiss Stage opponent from VCT China.

The series kicked off with a competitive game on Lotus. Despite previously looking uncomfortable on this map, Wolves showed significant improvements this time around. The Chinese roster had a strong start on its attack side, taking the first pistol round and ending the half 7-5.

Attacking was also PRX’s strength, as the team won a much-needed pistol to string together four consecutive rounds. Although Wolves retaliated with successful retakes and hero plays, the squad could not deny its opponent to force overtime. It was then that PRX won crucial aim duels to claim its map pick 14-12.

Throughout the back-and-forth match, Khalish ‘d4v41’ Rusyaidee consistently impressed with his multi-frags and impactful Vyse utility usage. D4v41 delivered a 26/16 kill-death ratio and an average combat score (ACS) of 279.

On Wolves’ map pick, it was PRX’s turn to surprise viewers with a solid Ascent performance. While Wolves showed early confidence and success, PRX managed to eventually shut down most of its opponent’s attack attempts. The Pacific team — which has historically struggled on Ascent — achieved an 8-4 half partially thanks to a deadly Operator-Shorty combination on Ilya ‘something’ Petrov.

On defence alone, the Jett player secured 13 of his 19 total kills to provide his team with early numbers advantages.

The second half saw PRX continue its domination with uncanny diligence and discipline. Despite Wolves’ two sentinels, the Chinese roster repeatedly failed to protect the sites and coordinate team fights. Still, Wolves managed to survive at match point for a few rounds before succumbing to a Stinger thrift buy (8-13).

In spite of Wolves’ defeat today, the VCT China team still has a chance to make it to the Grand Final at Masters Toronto.

Tomorrow, Wolves will meet the winner of today’s Lower Bracket Semifinal, Fnatic, in the Lower Bracket Final. This vital best-of-five (BO5) series will determine the final team to advance to the Grand Final and compete against Paper Rex for the second Masters trophy of the year.