SINGAPORE: After a series of near-misses, Singapore-based e-sports team Paper Rex finally ended their wait for a major international trophy.
The team of mostly South-East Asian (SEA) players emerged victorious in the grand final of Valorant Masters Toronto, beating the formidable Fnatic 3-1 at the Enercare Centre on June 22 to claim the US$350,000 top prize.
London-based team Fnatic, the 2023 Masters winners, had fought their way through the losers’ bracket and put up a formidable challenge in the best-of-five final, before losing the tense 4½-hour battle in the popular first-person shooter video game.
Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie, the only Singaporean player on the Paper Rex roster, could barely contain his delight after securing the long-awaited victory to make up for the disappointment of losing in the grand final of the 2023 Valorant Champions. The Champions tournament is a higher tier than Masters competitions.
Said the 21-year-old: “It’s surreal. The feeling is just setting in. I’m proud of myself and my team. I’m happy to be able to represent not just my country but also fly all the flags of our home SEA region.”
While Paper Rex are based in Singapore, their players come mainly from around the region. Besides Russian Ilia “something” Petrov, the other members are Indonesians Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart and Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto; Malaysian Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee; and Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza from the Philippines.
In the first-round group stage, Paper Rex beat Team Heretics of Spain 2-0 but lost 2-0 to North American side Gen.G Esports. With their campaign on the line, they mustered a 2-1 victory over Team Liquid of the Netherlands to seal one of the four spots in the next round.
Pitted against winners from the four international leagues – North and South America; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; the Pacific (Japan, South Korea, and India); and China – in the eight-team, double-elimination play-offs, Paper Rex went unbeaten into the grand final.
The won all their best-of-three matches 2-0 – beating North America’s G2 Esports, Sentinels of the United States before overcoming Wolves Esports, the e-sports team of English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Paper Rex coach Alexandre “alecks” Salle was filled with “a sense of relief, mostly”.
“I don’t think I could stomach (another) loss,” said Salle, referring to their near misses, including finishing fifth/sixth at the 2024 Valorant Masters Shanghai and third at the Valorant Masters Tokyo in 2023. “I’m sure it will dawn on me eventually that we’ve achieved one of our goals.”
The 35-year-old Frenchman and Singapore permanent resident paid tribute to the immense support from their fans in the region “which drives us forward”.
Besides the support, he also attributed their victory to “a holistic approach to player training and development”.
Salle said: “We have a performance coach and watch what we eat. I think we found a balance that worked for us. I think this is a sign that perhaps e-sports is maturing into a professional athletic sport.”
Paper Rex chief creative officer Gad Tan added: “E-sports players by nature sleep late, wake up late, have irregular eating habits (and) don’t get fresh air much. The performance coach helps (them) develop a sense of mindfulness about themselves and approach a work day with better energy.”
With the trophy in hand, Paper Rex are looking forward to their next assignment – Stage 2 of the Valorant Pacific League in Seoul from July 15 to Aug 31. Their ultimate goal will be to qualify and making a deep run at the Sept 12-Oct 5 Valorant Champions in Paris. - The Straits Times/ANN
