Paper Rex sweep LOUD 2-0 to advance to VALORANT Masters Madrid lower bracket finals

It’s a great day for the Pacific region, with both first and second seeds securing crucial wins at the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Masters Madrid.

While Gen.G secured a Grand Finals berth after defeating Sentinels in the upper bracket finals, Singaporean team Paper Rex survived the first round of the lower bracket after they swept Brazilian team LOUD, 2-0, in the lower bracket semifinals on Saturday (23 March).

Both Paper Rex and LOUD came into Masters Madrid as the second seed of the Pacific and the Americas regions, respectively.

Paper Rex encountered an early setback when they lost 1-2 to China's EDward Gaming in their first match of the Swiss format Group Stage. However, they bounced back by securing their first victory with a 2-1 win against Team Heretics.

Building on this success, they maintained their momentum by defeating Karmine Corp, 2-1, in the Group Stage finale to make it to the Playoffs.

Meanwhile, LOUD encountered their first loss in the opening game against Gen.G before bouncing back with consecutive 2-0 sweeps against FunPlus Phoenix and EDward Gaming.

In the Playoffs, Paper Rex failed to avenge their VCT Pacific Kickoff grand finals loss against Gen.G, with the South Korean team crushing them in a swift 2-0 sweep in the upper bracket semifinals.

This dropped the Singaporean team to the lower bracket, where they faced LOUD in a best-of-three in the lower bracket semifinals.

In the first game on Ascent, both teams had an intense back-and-forth and were neck and neck at 6-6 after the first half. However, Paper Rex made small adjustments and seized opportunities to gain the upper hand against LOUD and win the second half 7-5 to secure the first game.

The Singaporean powerhouse were less forgiving in the second game on Sunset, gaining a 7-5 advantage in the first half. Paper Rex carried their momentum into the second half with a 6-3 run, giving them the 13-8 game two win and the 2-0 series victory.

Paper Rex will next be facing Sentinels in the lower bracket finals for the right to challenge Gen.G for the Masters Madrid championship in the Grand Finals.

Meanwhile, LOUD end their journey at Masters Madrid in fourth place, taking home US$35,000 in consolation.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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