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Paper Rex created history by becoming the first APAC Valorant team to make it to the VCT LAN tournament's Grand Final at the Masters Copenhagen. Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee, who has been a part of the roster, has also contributed to the squad's success so far with his brilliant gameplay despite suffering from COVID-19 during the tournament.
On Day 10 of the VCT 2022 Stage 2 Masters Copenhagen, Paper Rex defeated OpTic Gaming with a 2-1 score in the best-of-three match series at the Upper Bracket Finals. This pushed OpTic to the Lower Bracket and Paper Rex into the Finals. This is the first time an APAC squad will play in the Grand Finals of a LAN tournament organized by Riot Games.
The intense match between the APAC and NA teams witnessed some massive aggression from both ends. Paper Rex dominated the series against OpTic Gaming. Despite losing the second map, Bind, the team came back stronger in Fracture and took down the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Reykavik winners.
d4v41 on Paper Rex being first APAC Valorant team to qualify for VCT 2022 Stage 2 Masters Copenhagen Grand Finals
The Grand Finals are mostly dominated by the NA and EMEA teams, even though LOUD from LATAM have previously played in the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Reykavik Grand Finals. However, they lost to OpTic Gaming, and with it, an opportunity to win a Valorant LAN tournament.
In a post-match press conference, when Sportskeeda Esports' Pratiti Dhang asked the team how they felt about the victory and becoming APAC's first Valorant Masters' Grand Finalist, Paper Rex's D4v41 said:
"I would say, as a team, I think we are very happy. We came a long way from losing 13-0 to Team SMG in Bind, to here. I guess in terms of our performance, we might drop or whatever, but I would say everyone is very happy with the performance. I guess everyone is putting a lot of effort into coming to this tournament despite having, like, COVID-19 and stuff like the luggage missing or whatever. I think everyone is very happy with the result."
Paper Rex has indeed come a long way since the entire Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) squad switched to Valorant. d4v41 recalled their match against Team SMG in VCT 2021 Malaysia & Singapore Stage 1: Challengers 2 Playoffs: Lower Bracket Round 2, when the team lost with a 13-0 scoreline. Since then, Paper Rex has grown and evolved as a team.
d4v41 has been a part of the team since February 8, 2022 and helped the team with his great intel gathering and defensive plays as an Initiator and Sentinel in the game.
d4v41 and his teammates have overcome all the obstacles and mishaps that have occurred during the tournament and have come a long way to make history in Valorant esports. They are one step away from becoming the first APAC team to win VCT LAN, as they still have to compete in the Grand Finals to win the tournament.
