It’s about to get LOUD: Paper Rex take on the Brazilian juggernauts in Champions 2023 Upper Bracket

LOUD and Paper Rex. Two massive titans that have never clashed before, in part due to their differing eras. LOUD’s dominance of 2022 coincided with Paper Rex’s rise to popularity. But by the time Paper Rex had fully ascended, LOUD was on a downwards trajectory. However, a recent resurgence of form now sees LOUD return to their glory powers, if only briefly for a final tryst of the year. Paper Rex, for their part, are eyeing ever greater glory and a chance to test their strength against one of the world’s former best.

"We come in with zero expectations and play the game, like usual" -f0rsakeN

Just when you think they’re out

LOUD’s return to form has been one of the biggest talking points at Champions 2023. After their disastrous Tokyo run and first round loss to DRX, many were calling the time of death on the roster already. Team Liquid was set to nail home that final coffin spike for LOUD after their own close series against NA’VI. Instead, what happened was LOUD demonstrated a masterclass performance that destroyed Team Liquid, sending the latter home instead.

Then they faced NA’VI, a team that many saw was on a comeback arc of their own, regaining some of that form that had terrified Europe in the early parts of the year. It was a close series as well, but ultimately, LOUD managed to take them down, sending home two of EMEA’s finest.

In Playoffs, they faced none other than Fnatic, the greatest Europe had to offer. Once more, LOUD was seen as the underdogs, with Fnatic’s form coming into Playoffs looking flawless. Instead, LOUD displayed a 2-0 victory over Fnatic, with some of the best form and teamplay the team has shown all year. 3-0 against EMEA so far LOUD.

“We’re very happy with the evolution of our team, the way that we continue to play, our tactics, and our communication.”

Erick “aspas” Santos spoke after their victory over Fnatic, stating that: ‘I think the victory will bring a lot of confidence for us, especially having the hardest match of my life against NA’VI. But overall, we’re very happy with this, and we’re going to be even more confident after this victory.’

Daniel “fRoD” Montaner’s response was more muted, but he still confirmed that for the team, they were very happy with the ‘evolution of [LOUD’s] team, the way they continue to play, their tactics, and their communication.’ ‘Yeah, definitely gives us a lot of confidence,’ he said, ‘especially after we were finally able to break our little losing streak from Tokyo and the first game here at Champs.’ Matias “saadhak” Delipetro also chimed in with a cheeky ‘Yes. I agree. 100%’ to his coach’s response.

Delivering on the Potential

Paper Rex came into Champions 2023 as a highly favored team to not only challenge Fnatic, but potentially take Champions. When they burst onto the scene in 2022, it was their raw, untethered, and unhinged playstyle that captured the hearts and imaginations of so many. Over the year, we’ve seen them develop into one of the best teams in the world. Growing stronger tactically, developing a flexibility and unit cohesion that is nearly unparalleled in the world.

Their addition of Ilya “something” Petrov this year has also boosted their firepower considerably. They managed to make top 3 at Tokyo without “something”, thus the narrative, that with him, winning Champions altogether could be in the cards. One of his wild card picks that has proven to deliver great success for PRX has been his signature Reyna. When asked on the pick after their series against FUT, he and coach Alexandre “alecks” Sallé had this to say.

“Right now, it’s working. It’s been stopped before, so we’ll see what happens.”

‘I’d say it’s like a combo. I can play on Reyna on a Tier 1 class I would say, and it’s our playstyle, go W,’ said Ilya. Alexandre followed by stating: ‘I think it compliments our playstyle, more than anything else. Also, it’s one of Ilya’s comfort picks. So, sometimes we just go with…we try to make it work. And right now, it’s working. It’s been stopped before, so we’ll see what happens.’

Despite all of their success, PRX continues to remain humble. Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto spoke on how the team continues to ‘play for fun and trust each other that no matter what happens, we just go for it. We come in with zero expectations and play the game, like usual.’

Paper Rex will take on LOUD at 2000 BST on the 19th of August. For more updates on Valorant Champions 2023, follow Valorant Champions Tour Twitter. Follow Strafe Esports for all the latest coverage on Valorant Champions 2023 and all other esports related news.

Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games