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Paper Rex wins Galaxy Racer Valorant India Invitational - Playoffs Recap Day Two and Three
The Galaxy Racer Valorant India Invitational has concluded. After three long days of arduous competition, a winner has been crowned: Paper Rex. After a tight Group Stage run where they saw domestic rivals Bleed Esports challenge their supremacy within the groups, Paper Rex emerged from the groups and took on playoffs with great stride, adding the scalps of Team Heretics and Team Secret to their run.
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Format
Organized by Galaxy Racer, a total of eight teams; seven from Pacific and one representative from EMEA, compete for a prize pool of 100,000 USD. The tournament is separated into two events, the Group Stage, organized in two groups, and the Playoffs, including the top 4 teams from the tournament.
The Group Stage is played in Round Robin fashion, with the top two teams from each group advancing to Playoffs. All matches are played in Bo1 format for this stage. In the Playoffs, it becomes a single-elimination bracket. All matches are now Bo3s, excluding the finals, which will be a Bo5.
The teams that emerged from Groups:
- Team Heretics
- Team Secret
- Paper Rex
- Bleed Esports
Gods Don’t Bleed
Team Heretics took on Bleed Esports in a clash of giants. Despite the end scoreline of 2-0, Heretics were made to sweat for it, with the first game going to double Overtime (OT). However, Team Heretics emerged as the more cohesive team that day, taking Bleed’s pick of Icebox before storming to the finish line on Bind.
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Open Secret
A battle of the Pacific went over in Paper Rex versus Team Secret. Coming into the event, doubts swirled around Team Secret’s roster state. One of the few partnered organizations who had made minimal changes to their roster despite a lack of trophies, there was little confidence to be inspired by their lineup. That said, the tune quickly changed as Team Secret showed themselves to be a powerhouse in their own right.
In the group stage, Secret upset tournament favorites on Haven with a convincing win against the European challengers. In playoffs, Team Secret challenged Paper Rex to their limits, even taking a map off the Pacific frontrunners. The end scoreline of 2-1 fails to capture the hard fought battle that occurred. Paper Rex star Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto posted a 285 ACS and 1.53 KD across the series, the highest of the semifinals.
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Fated Duel
From the onset of the tournament, there were two teams that were fated to clash. Team Heretics and Paper Rex both entered as the favorites and the ones to beat. It was greatly expected for one of the two to emerge as champions, as Paper Rex eventually did.
The Grand Finals was five map affair, in a Bo5 format that promised spectacular battles. Paper Rex dealt the first blow, taking Bind in 13-11 fashion. However, Team Heretics had been mounting a comeback from the 9-3 half they started with. Heretics would then take Fracture in convincing fashion, disallowing Paper Rex a single point on the defense half (13-6).
Breeze was a stormy affair, with Paper Rex again taking the half 9-3 before Heretics attempted another comeback to a 13-10 score. On Ascent, it appeared as if the wind had gone from Heretics’ sails as they took only 2 points in the second half. Paper Rex would win the Galaxy Racer Valorant India Invitational at 3-1, taking home 50,000 USD.
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Image credit: Galaxy Racer India
