The Dust Settles: VCT Pacific Week 3 Recap

The third week of action completes the first phase of the competition of VCT Pacific. With six matches left for the season, the first three weeks acted as a preview for the rest of the league.

In the three weeks of competition, We got our two leaders in DRX and GenG. Paper Rex returned to their intense old look after taking down T1, a strong team in their regard. T1 and Team Secret faced their first loss, but it wasn't a significant problem. Zeta continues to look stronger as the tournament progresses. RRQ won this week's first match, going one step above their opponents.

Global Esports, DFM and Talon did lose their games and have yet to secure their first win, but they don't look like pushover teams. Overall, the third week set the preset for the upcoming weeks of action. 

Let's recap the week's action.

VCT Pacific Week #3 Recap:

Match 1 - RRQ 2:0 DFM:

In an almost anti-climatic game, RRQ and DFM weren't as close as people expected. While both teams hadn't registered their first win, they were on the right track to improve. While DFM was the favourite going into the game, RRQ quickly showed they were prepared and ready to win their first game.

Starting on Haven, DFM needed help getting started. After the game, DFM's Xnfri talked about how it was an off-day for them and, with their new team problems, could not attack synergically and lost the first half 2-10. RRQ used the lead and momentum to close the game quickly with a decisive 13-4 scoreline.

On Pearl,  DFM seemed a bit better, but they were struggling. RRQ continued to play their A Game and closed the first half of Pearl 9-3. RRQ continued their proper execution and won the game 13-7 to win their first game.

https://twitter.com/vctpacific/status/1644660311230914563

Match 2 - T1 0-2 Paper Rex:

Paper Rex lost their previous game, but it only made them stronger. T1 hadn't lost the game yet and was riding the confidence wave. The match was balanced, but as the match started, Paper Rex displayed their capabilities.

Starting on Pearl, We saw the international debut of PRX Something with Something on Jett, Jinggg on Phoenix and f0rsaken on Killjoy. However weird the combination seemed, f0rsaken on Killjoy put up numbers comparable to a duelist. With two aces on the attack by f0rsaken, Paper Rex secured the half 11-1. They closed the first map 13-3.

On Fracture, T1 was in more control of the defence. They could deny Paper Rex's attempt to secure momentum and close the first half 7-5. But on defence, T1 struggled to handle Paper Rex's aggression. Paper Rex only let T1 win one round. This is an official return of Paper Rex to their old "LORD OF CHAOS" form. The loss was T1's first, and they'd bounce back.

Match 3 - Zeta Division 2:1 Global Esports:

The ZETA-GES was the only series in week three to go all three maps. The series saw GES and ZETA taking down each other. Starting on GES's Pearl, GES secured the first half of Pearl with a 9-3 scoreline. ZETA answered back in the second half, but the lead in the first half helped GES secure their map pick 13-9.

Ascent was a brawl. The first half had GES starting strong, but ZETA answered back to secure a five-round first half. In the second half, ZETA secured the map point first, but GES forced the issue to overtime. In Overtime, ZETA secured the attack and the defence round to secure the final map.

The final series map saw Dep taking over the map as a Jett. On defence, ZETA won eight rounds in the first half to secure a strong 8-4 lead. They extended the lead by six in the second half. The lead helped them secure the game 13-8. Despite its strong performance, Global Esports still struggles to secure its first win. ZETA is now 2-1 in the league and is looking at an upward trend.

Match 4 - Talon 0-2 DRX:

Talon is struggling with their first win and is still searching for the first win. But DRX was a strong opponent. DRX is a strong team, and they continued their reign over the Pacific. Talon came in the first map of Split with a three-duelist composition. The composition was a trick, but it didn't affect DRX at all, and they repeatedly shut down Talon to secure the Talon map pick 13-3 after a strong 11-1 first half.

Talon's unorthodox composition continued on Pearl as they played with Reyna and a Jett with a solo Harbor on Crws. The aggressive attack from Talon worked multiple times, and they managed to secure a five-round first half. DRX's coordinated attack attempts were defended well by Talon. Talon's defence managed to push DRX to the edge, but in the end, DRX stayed strong and secured the map 13-10. With the win, DRX is the only team in the three international VCT Leagues not to drop a map. Talon will come next week with Vengeance and be ready to take down whoever they face.

Match 5 - Team Secret 0-2 GenG:

With T1 losing the game, the game was a decider for who'd be the number 2 in the Pacific. GenG and Team Secret took down teams to secure a 2-0 start, but with the game, one team had to lose the undefeated streak. Starting on Haven, GenG's prowess and clutching potential shone brighter than Team Secret's as they secured a two-round lead at the end of the half. The defensive half from GenG was shutting down Team Secret's key players and winning the defensive half to secure the first map 13-8.

On Fracture, once again, the sheer talent of GenG's players pulled them through. Despite a struggling first half, TS, GenG's IGL displayed some amazing reads on Team Secret and closed the game 13-11. With the win, GenG will sit comfortably in the second seat and face T1 in the third week. Team Secret will try to close out the next game and secure a strong position in the league.

After three weeks of play the VCT Pacific League Leaderboard looks as follows: 

The fourth week of VCT Pacific will be the start of the mid-season. Teams will settle in and secure as many wins as possible to ensure they are safe during the last leg of the competition. The fourth week of VCT Pacific starts on 15th April. 

Follow VCT Pacific's Twitter for all the updates regarding VCT Pacific.

Credits: Riot Games // VCT Pacific

You can also follow VCT Pacific on Strafe.