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"It was really hard to counter" LOUD falls to Paper Rex in the Valorant Champions 2023 upper semifinals
The Valorant Champions 2023 Playoffs day 4 started with Paper Rex taking on LOUD. Previously, at the Valorant Champions 2023 playoffs, Paper Rex defeated FUT to secure the upper semifinals. LOUD delivered a massive upset to Fnatic, knocking down the tournament favorites in the lower bracket. In the game yesterday, both teams played their best Valorant and we witnessed one of the most entertaining games of Valorant in Los Angeles. Prior to this, the teams have never faced each other despite attending a total of five events together.
W gaming supremacy:
The game started with Lotus, a map LOUD defeated Fnatic on. Fnatic has been the best Lotus team in the world, only losing the map twice. In the game, both teams went toe to toe with each other tying in regulation. In overtime after exchanging defense rounds, Paper Rex completely shifted gears to win an attack round and followed it up with a strong defense to secure Lotus.
Split was one-sided, The LOUD attack completely annihilated the Paper Rex defense to secure a 10-2 lead and convert it into a 13-2 win.
LOUD was in complete control of Pearl for the first five rounds and it seemed, Pearl would be another landslide victory for the team. But Paper Rex’s mid rounding completely turned the tables. When the dust settled, Paper Rex were leading by two rounds after the first half. On defense they extended the lead and converted the lead into a solid 13-10 victory. During the whole game, Paper Rex and LOUD had some insane individual plays and it made the game extremely fun to watch.
Post the Valorant Champions 2023 playoff games, both teams attended the press conference. Following is the Strafe excerpt from the same.
Q. (for LOUD Saadhak) This was LOUD’s first time playing Paper Rex. They have a very unique aggressive playstyle and previously a lot of IGL’s have admitted to struggling to adjust to the Paper Rex’s tempo. How was your experience calling and facing Paper Rex and their signature playstyle?
LOUD Saadhak: “For sure they have a unique way of playing game, really aggressive. I think adjusting wasn’t difficult, I think playing against that kind of playstyle is really difficult. Because sometimes it feels like a 50-50, you either gonna kill them or they are going to kill you. So it wasn’t as hard to adapt to, but it was really hard to counter it. Props to them, it’s really unique and really hard to play against”
Q. (For LOUD Saadhak) You will face EDG next, they have a similar playstyle. What would you change about today’s game before facing them tomorrow?
LOUD Saadhak: “We are going to watch it and then I can answer it. I don’t know right now. I have to watch the VODs to see what we can improve on and do better.”
Q. (For PRX Alecks) Congratulations on your win today. Split seemed really hard for Paper Rex. A big problem for Paper Rex previously was keeping the energy high and the right mental state. After the split loss, what did you tell the team so that they don’t lose their mental and win on Pearl?
PRX Alecks: “To be honest, the last two times we have played, we haven’t started really fast. We need to figure this out. As for Pearl, I think we just believed in ourselves. Pearl is one of our good maps, even though they came in incredibly prepared for it, we just try to play our game and figure it out along the way.”
Q. (For PRX Jinggg) The next game (EG vs. DRX) will decide your opponent. Who do you think will win the game and who would you rather face?
PRX Jinggg: “I don’t know who’d win. But I am supporting DRX in the game and want them to win. And I want to face EG because we always play DRX”
Q. (For PRX Alecks) You and Fnatic despite having different playstyles do believe in having a consistent composition throughout the year. While the compositions work really well, it makes you prone to anti-strating. How do you prepare for such scenarios when the opposition would anti-strat you?
PRX Alecks: “I mean usually what I do is I anti-strat myself, ourselves. We just look at ourselves and think we need to adjust this, we need to adjust that, come up with something new. Or we just don’t care and do what we think we are good at. Sometimes even if you anti-strat it is hard to stop and in these kinda situations, it is a bit of both, sometimes we change it up, sometimes you have to go B every round.”
We will see Paper Rex at the KIA forum after the break. The Valorant action still continues at the Shrine as the lower bracket gets intense. For more updates on Valorant Champions 2023, follow Valorant Champions tour Twitter.
Credits: Riot Games // Valorant Champions Tour.
