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Pacific no Akuma: VCT Masters Tokyo Team Introductions

Pacific no Akuma: VCT Masters Tokyo Team Introductions

Valorant
9 Jun
Ganesh Jadhav

The top teams across the three international Valorant leagues will congregate in Tokyo in a few days. Twelve teams representing the Americas, China, EMEA, and Pacific will play each other in VCT Masters Tokyo spanning 17 days. Out of the twelve teams, three teams would represent the Pacific. The three teams qualified through an intense battle of ideas and strategies in VCT Pacific. The ten distinct ideas of VCT Pacific clashed throughout the season, and in the end, we had three teams left. 

Now these three teams will face other international representatives at VCT Masters Tokyo. Previously at LOCK//IN, Pacific delivered some interesting punches but no knockouts. DRX was the only team to reach the semifinals but lost to LOUD. But this is the time for the Pacific to shine. Unlike most other leagues with similar playstyles, Pacific had various playstyles clashing throughout the league's duration to reach the top. The slow and Methodical DRX and GenG did stay atop everyone, but in the end, the Chaotical Paper Rex took down everyone. Right now, the three representatives of the Pacific are Paper Rex, the chaos of the Pacific; DRX, the method of the Pacific; T1, the Default of the Pacific.

Let's look at these teams individually to find their strengths and weaknesses.

VCT Masters Tokyo Pacific seed #1 Paper Rex:

The W gamers have changed their faces this time, and the team has let go of former IGL Benedict "Benkai" Tan and will play with Illya "something" Petrov. With the added firepower, Paper Rex is unstoppable.

The reborn Paper Rex finally took down DRX twice, and the aggression reincarnated. They seem to have perfected their aggressive playstyles and, more often than not, run down opponents to their death. The team has all the components it needs to take down every team at VCT Masters Tokyo.

Understanding the map pool:

Paper Rex map stats at VCT Pacific Paper Rex at VCT Pacific

The only map where Paper Rex seems to be struggling in Pacific was Icebox, a map they did not enjoy. Ascent was a concerning pick for the team but they recently beat DRX who are a top Ascent team internationally. While these statistics are definitely boosted as some of the games were played against pacific teams still trying to find their groove.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

As discussed earlier, one of the biggest strengths of Paper Rex is its map pool. Paper Rex can play any map, allowing them to outplay their opponents in the map veto. Moreover, Paper Rex's flexibility triumphs over the world, and it is really hard as the opponent won't know what composition Paper Rex would run on the day.

Another advantage the Pacific has over other regions is the pure unadulterated raw mechanical talent in Jinggg, f0rsaken, and something. Especially with Shorty still being a viable option at 150, something won't shy away from pulling it out to humiliate his opponents.

As expressed by the players, one major concern for Paper Rex is the mentality. Paper Rex can either get too excited or get too depressed, and it affects their performance a lot. They have worked on this, but it can show its face again facing an international opponent.

VCT Masters Tokyo Pacific seed #2 DRX:

The Dragons would come out for revenge. The loss at VCT Pacific won't sit well with DRX, and they would come at VCT Pacific with a vengeance. With Riot ensuring maximum inter-region games, there is a chance Paper Rex and DRX won't meet until the final stages of VCT Masters Tokyo.

But vengeance is not the only thing driving DRX. DRX has already perfected the playstyle. They are confident in their playstyles enough to play with foxy9 throughout VCT Pacific and then bring out Zest for the last stages of VCT Pacific. DRX can also weaponize this by running either with Zest or Foxy9 and showing a completely different version of DRX.

Understanding the map pool:

DRX map stats at VCT Pacific DRX at VCT Pacific

Lotus is the only map, DRX did not play enough at Pacific. While Bind and Haven but seem to have lower win percentages, they are both a strong pick for DRX. But throughout Pacific, Split was undeniably the strongest pick for DRX. Despite some challenging matches, DRX is unbeatable on Split.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

The biggest strength of DRX lies in the stability of the team. The team can win it all, and the individual struggles have kept the team from lifting an international trophy. With the team having protocols and set plays for all the situations, it is really upon the players to win.

And With Tokyo, the players will prepare to take down everyone and face Paper Rex in the finals. Additionally, the flexibility of Rb, BuZz, and Stax and the reliability of MaKo is what make DRX so strong. With the three players fulfilling any role in the game, DRX can just be preparing something new and blow every other team out of the waters at Masters. With the deep pool, even DRX can win a game based on the map draw.

One of the biggest concerns for DRX has to be the anti-strating. We saw Team Secret anti-strat DRX's Haven, and DRX has to find a way to win the game with the teams anti-strating them.

VCT Masters Tokyo Pacific seed #3 T1:

The final seed of VCT Pacific was T1. The relatively new team globally had a hard time finding their groove initially. They had a hard time at LOCK//IN. But since the team has been evolving, their fifth player in Carpe, the legendary overwatch pro turned to Valorant, has made significant strides and will be a tough nut to crack for opponents. The team has some exceptionally talented players and will not hesitate to put down opponents in straight-up aim duels.

Understanding the Map pool:

T1 map stats at VCT Pacific T1 at VCT Pacific

T1 inital struggle do reflect in their stats. Split is the only map they shy away from. While Pearl is a map they didn't find success on despite playing it enough. The team is still a strong opponent to face on Pearl. The best map for the team has to be Fracture with a 4-2 record.

Strengths and weaknesses:

Fact that the players of T1 played a considerable amount of time in NA, their playstyle is pretty unique to them. They are trying to incorporate the strengths of Korea with NA and are still evolving every game.

The players are settling better in their roles, especially Carpe, who recently started his professional Valorant journey. He is improving at a phenomenal rate and has the potential to take down all the opponents. But the biggest strength of T1 currently is Xeta. Xeta is the pinnacle of stability in T1. The player has had insane performances and quietly leads the team to victory.

One of the biggest criticisms of T1 is the instability of the players. With Sayaplayer going on and off and Munchkin and Ban with inconsistencies, they can cost T1 a lot.

 

VCT Masters Tokyo will start in two days. The tournament will start with the Group stage. DRX and T1 will take on the international opponents in the Group stage to meet up with Paper Rex at the playoffs. The action will kick-off on 11th June with FUT taking on Evil Geniuses. You can follow the VCT Twitter for all the updates regarding VCT Masters Tokyo.

Credits: Riot Games // Valorant Champions Tour


You can also follow VCT Masters Tokyo on Strafe

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