Paper Rex secure back-to-back VALORANT Radiant Invitational crowns
Adrian “invy” Reyes got his hands on a new trophy at the VALORANT Radiant International Invitational just days after joining Paper Rex.
CHINA – Paper Rex captured the 2025 VALORANT Radiant International Invitational title on Sunday, December 21, defeating Gen.G 3-1 in the grand final in Fuzhou and debuting former Team Secret initiator Adrian “invy” Reyes.
The triumph marked Paper Rex’s third trophy of 2025, following their wins at VALORANT Masters Toronto and VCT Pacific Stage 2, and also secured them consecutive Radiant Invitational titles after winning the 2024 Asia Invitational edition in Chengdu over DetonatioN FocusMe.
Gen.G opened the series with a dominant 13-5 win on Abyss, but Paper Rex responded with three straight map wins to close out the championship: Split (13-5), Haven (13-3), and Bind (13-9). The result also ended Paper Rex’s long wait for another win against Gen.G, with their previous victory in the matchup dating back to the 2024 VCT Pacific Stage 1 Grand Finals, 588 days earlier.
The 2025 Radiant International Invitational built on last year’s event, expanding from an Asia-only field into a fully international lineup. Alongside returning VCT Pacific representatives Paper Rex and Gen.G, the tournament welcomed G2 Esports from VCT Americas, plus VCT CN teams Bilibili Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix, and host squad Nova Esports.
The event ran across two phases: a BO1 group stage and a king-of-the-hill playoff bracket. In group play from December 18 to 19, Gen.G stormed to a perfect 4-0 record to claim first seed and a direct berth into the BO5 grand final.
FunPlus Phoenix also impressed in groups, carrying momentum from their Evolution Cup Series Finals title into Fuzhou. FPX went 3-1 to place second and reach the playoffs, picking up signature wins over G2 and Paper Rex while fielding two new additions, former BLEED player Natchaphon “sScary” Matarat and rookie Ou “Setrod” Tai-keng. Qu “Life” Donghao was one of the standout performers across the stage, posting two aces during the group run.
Playoffs then ran as a gauntlet bracket: the No. 1 seed (Gen.G) advanced directly to the grand final, No. 2 (FPX) started in the semifinal, and No. 3 vs No. 4 met in the quarterfinal. With both G2 and PRX finishing 2-2 in groups, the seeding order was decided by a tiebreak played in VALORANT’s new “Skirmish” mode, marking the first official tournament appearance of the format. G2’s Alexander “jawgemo” Mor and Trent “trent” Cairns edged PRX’s Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee and Ilia “something” Petrov 10-9 to claim the higher seed.
Paper Rex rebounded immediately after the Skirmish setback, sweeping G2 2-0 in the first playoff match before defeating FunPlus Phoenix to book their rematch against Gen.G in the final.
Ahead of the grand final, the event also featured PC and mobile showmatches. In the VALORANT Mobile exhibition, mixed-region lineups took the stage, with jawgemo and trent adapting quickly to the mobile version and both recording aces.
Paper Rex ultimately completed the run with their 3-1 win over Gen.G to lift the trophy in Fuzhou, with d4v41 named tournament MVP.
Outside the server, all six teams took part in cultural activities around Fuzhou, sampling local specialties such as fishballs and rouyan (pork-filled dumplings), trying traditional clothing, and experiencing local martial arts and Min opera.
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