Paper Rex made it only their second-ever international grand final.
The first grand finalist for VCT Champions 2023 will be Paper Rex after the VCT Pacific League champions took down Evil Geniuses in the upper bracket final. This is only the second-ever international VCT grand final for PRX with the first dating back to Stage 2 Masters in Copenhagen last year.
PRX also managed to take its revenge against EG after losing to them at Masters Tokyo earlier this season. And with that loss, EG will now drop to the lower bracket final where they will await the winner between LOUD and Fnatic.
EG started the series with their map pick of Ascent, which they were 2-0 heading into the series. However, it was PRX who started the map by taking the pistol and subsequent rounds. EG would take one back in the third round before PRX took the next two once again. Both teams would swap wins for the next two rounds to give PRX a 5-2 lead.
Despite the strong start, PRX would soon falter as EG picked up three rounds in a row to make it 5-5. With the score tied, PRX secured the last two rounds to take a slim 7-5 lead into halftime. The first six rounds saw both teams take three rounds apiece as EG took the pistol round to kick it off. And while it was PRX who had a 10-8 lead, EG went on a five-round win streak to secure the first game.
Map two was on Bind, which was PRX's pick despite not having it chosen in any of their prior matches at LAN. And this time it was EG who would take the pistol round and the second before both teams would trade wins for the next three rounds. With a 3-2 lead, EG went on to take three more rounds in a row to make it 6-2. PRX responded with its own three-round win streak but EG would close out the half with a slim 7-5 lead.
EG went on to further extend their lead at the start of the second half with two more rounds in a row to go 9-5, which included a 4K in the pistol round for Max "Demon1" Mazanov. However, PRX managed to go on an eight-round win streak to win the second map, which started with a great defuse play.
That was soon followed up with inch-perfect rounds with Ahmad Khalish Rusyaidee "d4v41" bin Nordin getting a clean and crispy 3K in the 19th round while JingYing "Jinggg" Lim had back-to-back 3K in the 21st and 22nd rounds.
The last and final match was on Pearl, a map both teams have been more than proficient on this tournament. And it was EG who once again took the pistol round and did one better this time by taking a quick 3-0 lead. But PRX managed to slowly claw themselves back round by round, eventually securing six in a row. This also included a three-versus-one clutch for Aaron "mindfreak" Leonhart that gave PRX a 4-3 lead.
And in typical PRX fashion, the Pacific League champions soon gave up that lead and the last three rounds to EG. This also included a 4K Bladestorm from Demon1, who was doing everything in his power to keep EG in the fight. The first half ended at 6-6 and EG spectacularly started the second, winning five in a row to put themselves within two points of taking the win. Alexander "jawgemo" Mor also got involved in the action with a 4K in the 15th round.
But similar to their second-half showcase on Bind, PRX once again took the hard route to comeback against EG with five rounds in a row of their own. In another clinical defensive masterclass, PRX managed to outplay EG on numerous occasions. Having tied it 11-11, EG managed to go into match point first but PRX soon forced overtime after a disgusting 3K from Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto with the Odin.
With the momentum still on their side, PRX soon took the first round of overtime, putting themselves within a point to make it to the grand finals. But EG managed to pull one back to make it all square once more. But in the last two rounds, a 3K each from d4v41 and Ilya "something" Petrov was enough to give PRX a man advantage to take the series and secure a top-two finish for the Pacific.
EG will await the winner between LOUD and Fnatic in the lower bracket semifinals while PRX will get an additional day's rest before the grand finals.
