According to Paper Rex, mindfreak has expressed “his burning desire to actively play and compete again, and Paper Rex does not want to hold talent like him back from exploring opportunities.”
INDONESIA – Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart has been officially allowed by Paper Rex to explore opportunities elsewhere as a restricted free agent. The Indonesian veteran has expressed a strong desire to return to active competition and continue playing at the highest level.
“Aaron is a fierce competitor and an incredibly cerebral player with a wealth of experience in his roles. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have him on our reserve roster, ready to step in should emergencies arise. Throughout the course of our journey, Aaron has been nothing short of professional and a strong team player throughout his tenure with us. Most recently, working closely with his teammates in his coaching role to take us across the finish line at VALORANT Masters Toronto,” said Harley “dsn” Örvall, Chief Gaming Officer of Paper Rex.
“However, Aaron has expressed to us his burning desire to actively play and compete again, and Paper Rex does not want to hold talent like him back from exploring opportunities,” dsn continued.
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A cornerstone of Paper Rex since the organization’s inception in early 2020, mindfreak has been one of Indonesia’s most accomplished VALORANT and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. His VALORANT résumé includes appearances at 11 international events since 2021, consistently helping drive the team’s regional dominance from the MY/SG and APAC Challengers era to winning the first-ever VCT Pacific League in 2023 and Pacific Stage 1 in 2024.
Heading into the 2025 season, following an underwhelming VCT Pacific Kickoff campaign that saw the team finish in 7th-8th place, Paper Rex made several adjustments. This included the addition of Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza and shifting mindfreak into a non-playing role, where he supported head coach alecks in the coaching booth and worked closely with players on individual development since the middle of VCT Pacific Stage 1.
This new chapter culminated in one of the greatest achievements of his career: Paper Rex’s victory at VCT Masters Toronto. The win not only marked a historic return to the top for the team but also made mindfreak one of the only two Indonesian players to lift an international VALORANT trophy. Even from outside the server, his fingerprints were all over the team’s success, with alecks multiple times publicly crediting his behind-the-scenes involvement as crucial to the championship run.
Across his international appearances, mindfreak reached two grand finals in Copenhagen (2022) and Los Angeles (2023) and won one championship in Toronto (2025).
Statement from mindfreak via Twitter:
“Hey everyone, as you guys have probably seen, Paper Rex has allowed me to explore and listen to offers as a player. Paper Rex have been treating me very very well and really professional as an org since the first day I joined this team back then in February 2020. I couldn’t be more grateful to be one of the players to work under this org. Many ups and down we went together as a team and I enjoyed every second playing and working with these people.
With that being said, I’m ready to play after Stage 2, I’m taking my time here at home to prepare mentally and physically to compete again since my state of mind was in a really bad shape earlier this year. Thank you guys for all the support throughout the years. Especially during our lowest moment, you know who you are. But this is the time for me to move to another chapter in my life so I can grow not only in game, but also outside of the game as a human being.
I hope you guys can try to understand my point of view. The future of Paper Rex are in great hands, they’re still my boys so I would not be worried and still supporting them till the end. I guess that’s it from me for now, in the meantime while still waiting for offers, I’m gonna stream more and take my time to relax mentally. Thanks for taking your time to read this. Until next time amigos.”
Should mindfreak sign with a new team, it would mark the end of a chapter that defined his career. For nearly six years, Paper Rex have been his only home since 2020. It would also mark the first time in that span that he won’t be playing alongside long-time teammates Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto, Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee, and Alexandre “alecks” Sallé, a core that dates back to their Counter-Strike days.
As of now, Paper Rex currently have the following players on their books:
- 🇲🇾 Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee
- 🇮🇩 Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto
- 🇷🇺 Ilia “something” Petrov
- 🇸🇬 Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie
- 🇵🇭 Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza
- 🇮🇩 Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart (Reserve)
- 🇫🇷 Alexandre “alecks” Sallé (Head Coach)
- 🇸🇬 Kumeresan “Tommy” Ramani (Team Manager)
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Cover photo courtesy of Lee Aiksoon/Riot Games
