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Paper Rex has progressed further up the lower bracket of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2022 Masters: Reykjavik after securing victory over The Guard.
After qualifying for the tournament's playoffs as champions of the APAC region, Paper Rex were pushed to the lower bracket after a defeat to Korea's DRX. However, upon facing the North American champions, The Guard, PRX managed to claim a dominant 2-0 victory, thereby cruising into their Lower Round 2 fixture.
Paper Rex and The Guard started the matchup with a close encounter on Haven where the Duelist duo of PRX - f0rsakeN and Jinggg put up enviable numbers to earn them a 13-10 map win. The map that followed ended in a similar fashion as PRX claimed Split on a 13-8 scoreline.
Paper Rex Jinggg talks about their performance against The Guard at VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters: Reykjavik
In a conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Adarsh J. Kumar, one of Paper Rex's young stars, Wang Jing "Jinggg" Jie, shed light on the team's performance against The Guard in the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters: Reykjavik.
Q: You had an integral role to play in Paper Rex's victory today, and even ended the match on top of the scoreboard. What do you have to say about your performance today?
Jinggg: I am very happy and proud of myself for this performance. Since it is like my first ever international LAN, I didn't know how it would go, but I am really happy with the results.
Q: With elimination on the line, the victory against The Guard was a much needed one. How would you describe PRX's performance today?
Jinggg: We performed really well as a team. We just played the way we usually do in practice. We did what we normally do and it helped us win.
Q: Do you think The Guard performed the way you expected them to, being the champions of a region as reputed as North America?
Jinggg: We didn't really anti-strat them much. We just played our own game. We expected them to play similar to APAC because we didn't feel The Guard was playing slow; it was really quite loose. I think we are really used to that playstyle, so it wasn't that hard for us today.
Q: The encounter against The Guard was your first official match against a North American side. What would you say are the key differences in playstyle between NA and APAC?
Jinggg: Since The Guard also has a loose playstyle similar to ours, I don't think there's much of a difference between the regions when compared to the EU and Korean teams. It's quite similar.
Q: You are renowned for your performances on Reyna and you are one of the few players at the VCT Masters: Reykjavik who have found success with the Agent. How efficient do you think Reyna is in competitive Valorant, and how much do you like playing the Agent?
Jinggg: It depends on how teams want to play. Our playstyle is really aggressive, so while I am on Reyna, I can get picks and Dismiss away without getting traded. If you play it that way, it is pretty good.
As for how much I like the Agent, I really enjoy playing Reyna. It is really fun to just kill, Dismiss, and just keep fragging. She is basically a fragging machine, so I love to play Reyna.
Q: You competed against regional competition in the MY/SG and APAC Challengers prior to the VCT Masters: Reykjavik. In terms of skill, where does APAC stand among the 7 regions in Valorant?
Jinggg: I think APAC is up there. Currently, EMEA is still ahead of everyone; I think they're the best. APAC is somewhere in the middle, but we are improving at a really fast rate. In the future, we might be the best.
Q: The VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters: Reykjavik is your first appearance in a VCT Masters event as well as an international LAN. How has your experience been at the tournament so far?
Jinggg: So far, it has been really exciting. Prior to this, I was quite nervous. Once we got into the game, I was completely fine. It's okay for me; I'm not nervous anymore.
Q: For your next Lower Round fixture, PRX will be matched up against the loser of G2 Esports vs LOUD. Which team, out of the two, would you like to play against?
Jinggg: I would like to face G2 since they are currently 2nd in the EMEA standings and 1st compared to the other EMEA teams here. I really want to play against an EMEA team.
Q: After your performance in VCT Masters: Reykjavik so far, how would you describe PRX as a team? What can we expect from your team for the rest of the tournament?
Jinggg: I think we are a really loose team and we play situations really well. Overall, we are a very balanced team.
Hopefully we will win against every single team and win the whole event!
