MANILA, Philippines — Paper Rex, with Filipino player Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza, bested South Korean rival DRX, 2-0, in the lower bracket semifinals to secure the last berth for the region in the coming Valorant Masters Toronto.
Having started its playoff run in the lower bracket, the Southeast Asia squad has been on a four-game winning streak. It overcame a slow start in the competition, taking down the likes of Valorant Masters Bangkok champion T1 and Ascension team BOOM Esports.
In the battle for the last slot to Masters Toronto, the Paper Rex drew first blood with its map pick of Lotus by racking enough rounds to stop DRX's comeback, 13-11.
Though DRX started strong in its map pick of Icebox, Paper Rex managed to take five consecutive rounds to set a comfortable lead, with Mendoza securing four kills in one round to bring his team closer to Masters Toronto.
At the half, though the South Korean squad bagged a few rounds, Paper Rex's lead was enough to secure the series.
Mendoza tallied a total of 30 kills and 12 assists and finished with the highest ADR (Average Damage per Round) of 147 in Icebox.
With Paper Rex qualifying for Masters Toronto, barring any visa issues, Mendoza will be the first Filipino to play in a Masters tournament. This as Team Secret, then BREN Esports, despite qualifying to Masters Berlin back in 2021, was unable to participate due to issues with travel documents.
The last time a Filipino played in the international Valorant stage was back in 2021, when Team Secret participated in the Valorant Champions Berlin and shocked the world by making it to the quarterfinals.
With a Masters Toronto berth in the bag, the Paper Rex train still has two stops to go: the lower bracket finals against Indonesia's RRQ at 4 p.m. Saturday (Manila time); and hopefully the VCT Pacific Stage 1 grand finals on Sunday, 4 p.m. (Manila time), against South Korea's Gen.G Esports.