Alongside Gen.G and Paper Rex, Sentinels and Wolves Esports will be joining the regional first seeds in the playoffs.
CANADA – The Swiss Stage of VCT Masters Toronto concluded with the top four teams moving onto the playoffs. The two teams to qualify with a 2-0 Swiss record were Sentinels after beating Bilibili Gaming and Wolves, and Gen.G after 2-0 ‘ing MIBR and Paper Rex. Meanwhile, Paper Rex and Wolves, after winning their first games, were able to close out their deciders against Team Liquid and Heretics.
Gen.G steamroll through the bracket
The Pacific second seed looked calm as they geared up for their opening game against MIBR. Despite Sunset being MIBR’s pick, Gen.G got off to a 6-0 start fueled by t3xture’s Neon pick. This trend continued through the map, which had a 9-3 first half, which Gen.G. quickly closed out as a 13-5. Fueled by their quick win on map one, Gen.G proceeded to only lose their bonus round on Haven, winning it almost flawlessly with a 13-1 scoreline.
t3xture was the indisputable MVP, with ten first kills that went completely untraded, and 35 kills in 32 rounds. He and the rest of Gen. G brought this momentum into their series against PRX but despite their 7-0 start, PRX brought things back to end the half 8-4 in Gen.G’s favor, and almost pushed the map to OT. However, Gen.G’s Karon pulled off a 1v2 clutch in the end to ensure Gen.G took map one 13-11.
Map two saw both teams rocking a mirror comp with both Omen and Viper, and once again, Gen.G used the pace of their first map win to continue their domination on map two, with a 9-3 half lead they converted flawlessly into a 13-3 victory to confirm their slot in the playoffs.
Post their win, t3xture said, “I would like to face G2 Esports,” but they were the team no one wanted to choose to play against, culminating in a FNATIC vs Gen.G playoffs opener.
Paper Rex cause heart attacks enroute playoffs-bound train
While Gen.G’s journey to the playoffs was won without dropping a single map, Paper Rex’s was much more tumultuous. The third seed from Pacific started strong with a 2-0 opening win against Team Heretics. A blistering 13-1 map one from Paper Rex set the tone for the whole series, with f0rsakeN topping the scoreboard on Pearl with an 18/3 KD and +15 kill differential on Astra.
Map two, Heretics’ pick of Icebox saw a much more back-and-forth game, with a 7-5 half ending in favor of Heretics. However, on the attacking side, Paper Rex regained their steam from map one, winning six rounds straight to get to 11-7, and ended up winning the map 13-9 and the series 2-0.
Their first shot at the playoffs ended badly, after a 2-0 loss to fellow Pacific team Gen.G. However, they had one more chance against Team Liquid’s six-player roster, which would decide if PRX would be a part of the Toronto playoffs. Map one was a close affair, with Paper Rex building up speed and getting themselves to match point first at 12-8. However, Liquid were able to hold on, and with an audacious play from Kamo with a Yoru clone, pushed their opponent’s map pick to OT and took the win 14-12.
Map two, Sunset, despite being TL’s pick, was a Paper Rex masterclass. Team Liquid’s defenses looked good enough against PRX, getting them a 7-5 scoreline in PRX’s favor. However, on attack, they failed to find even a single round win, with the map ending 13-5 and pushing the series to Lotus.
Map three saw an incredible 11-1 start for Paper Rex, and the writing seemed to be clear on the wall. However, neither nAts nor his team were willing to throw in the towel. From 12-3, then round by round, the EMEA reps brought the scoreline to OT once again. This time, round 25 saw f0rsakeN deny a 1v3 clutch for PatiTek to get PRX to match point again, a chance they didn’t let slip past again. 14-12, denying an insane comeback to TL, PRX qualified for the playoffs.
“We were having too much fun, and then suddenly, it wasn’t any fun anymore,” said PRX coach Alecks when asked about that map three. Jinggg was PRX’s MVP in that series, with 66 frags, 11 first kills, and a +14 kill differential.
ALSO READ: VCT Masters Toronto – Everything You Need To Know
Playoffs matches decided
The first-seeded teams from each region got to choose their opponents. XLG went first, and chose to go up against Sentinels. RRQ picked Wolves to avoid their regional rivals, which left G2 to choose PRX over Gen.G. This left FNATIC up against the Korean reps.
Of all four regions, Pacific is the only one left with all three of their reps present. China and the Americas each have two, while EMEA only has one.
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Cover photo courtesy of Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
