Singapore's Paper Rex fall short of VALORANT world championship with 1-3 loss to EG

Singapore's Paper Rex fell short of becoming this year's VALORANT world champions after they were defeated by the United States' Evil Geniuses (EG), 1-3, in the VALORANT Champions 2023 grand finals on Sunday (27 August).

With EG claiming the world championship title and the US$1 million grand prize, Paper Rex end their run in VALORANT Champions in second place and with US$400,000 in consolation.

Paper Rex falling short of the title especially stings for Singaporean star Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie, whose pro VALORANT career will come to a halt after the tournament as he is set to fulfill his mandatory national military service.

Paper Rex and EG were far and away the two best teams in VALORANT Champions, blitzing through the rest of the competition before their titanic clash in the grand finals.

Paper Rex looked dominant as early as the group stage, claiming the top seed of Group A after sweeping through Latin America's KRÜ Esports and China's EDward Gaming. EG likewise had a strong start, earning the top seed of Group B with sweeps over China's FunPlus Phoenix and Turkey's FUT Esports.

In the playoffs, Paper Rex swept FUT Esports and then defeated last year's world champions, Brazilian squad LOUD, to reach the upper bracket finals. EG defeated EDward Gaming and swept South Korea's DRX in order to set up their first meeting with Paper Rex.

Paper Rex then outlasted EG in an epic showdown in the upper bracket finals to become the first team in the VALORANT Champions grand finals. EG then forced a rematch with their Singaporean opponents by knocking out LOUD in the lower bracket finals.

Paper Rex came out swinging to start the grand finals, taking three of the first five rounds of game one in Split before finishing the first half with a comfortable 8-4 lead. However, EG flipped a switch in the second half and went on an incredible 9-2 run to claim the 13-10 game one win.

Max "Demon1" Mazanov and Alexander "jawgemo" Mor were the bane of Paper Rex in game one, racking up KDAs of 27/14/1 and 25/15/5 to give EG the 1-0 series lead. Meanwhile, Aaron "mindfreak" Leonhart and Illya "something" Petrov each had 16 kills despite the loss.

Paper Rex struck back in game two at Ascent, where they quickly got off to a four-round lead. While EG matched their aggression, the Singaporean squad still finished the first half with a 7-5 lead.

The Americans then looked to take control in the second half, taking a 9-8 lead by round 17. Paper Rex then answered with four-straight rounds to get within match point after round 21. While EG managed to get two more rounds, Paper Rex still closed out game two 13-11 after 24 rounds.

Something and Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee led the way for Paper Rex in game two, recording 25/15/2 and 24/14/3 KDAs respectively. Jinggg also pitched in with 20/22/3 along with a whopping 10 first kills.

While the first two games of the finals so far were hard-fought affairs, EG absolutely dominated game three in Bind. The Americans started off with a commanding 7-1 lead by round 8 before ending the first half up 9-3.

While Paper Rex showed signs of life by winning the first two rounds of the second half, EG quickly took the next four to claim the 13-5 win in Bind and a decisive 2-1 series lead.

Jawgemo was once again the biggest thorn on Paper Rex's side, leading EG to the win with a 23/12/4 KDA.

Paper Rex looked to mount a comeback in game four at Lotus, winning the first two rounds before things devolved into a slugfest that ended with them enjoying a 7-5 halftime lead.

However, EG smelled blood in the water and entered the second half guns blazing, winning four-straight rounds to take a 9-7 lead by round 16. Paper Rex won the next two to tie things up at 9-9, but the Americans went on another three-round run to get within match point after round 21.

With their backs against the wall, Paper Rex managed to win round 22 and looked poised to force things to overtime. However, EG could not be denied as they claimed round 23 to take the 3-1 finals victory and the 2023 VALORANT world championship title.

Jawgemo and Demon1 pushed EG past the finish line with 26/18/5 and 23/13/10 KDAs respectively. Meanwhile, Jinggg's last dance saw him put up a 19/18/5 KDA in the loss.

With VALORANT Champions 2023 now concluded, the VALORANT esports scene now looks ahead to the 2024 season. Next year's VALORANT Champions Tour will introduce a new league in China and a new Champions Points system, alongside other changes.

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