Paper Rex found a 2-0 win over Sentinels, which sets them against Wolves Esports to decide who gets to the grand finals of Masters Toronto.
CANADA – In the second game of the day, Paper Rex faced off against Sentinels – the first time the two teams had faced off against each other since the lower finals at Masters Madrid in 2024, where Sentinels defeated them and went on to lift up a trophy. Sentinels had so far only faced Chinese teams at Masters Toronto, and having beaten all three of them, now faced off against a Swiss-hardened Paper Rex coming into the upper semis with momentum after taking down G2 2-0.
Paper Rex demolishes Sentinels on Split
The map veto saw Paper Rex picking Split, a map they’d demonstrated their prowess on before with a 13-10 win against G2, which was a trial run for today’s gameplay. Jinggg and something on Raze and Yoru respectively were absolutely electric, with the latter having seven first kills. Starting off on the attack on a typically CT-sided map, the double duelist composition began firing on all cylinders.
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The Pacific representatives got off to a 6-0 start before Sentinels even found a round, and this trend continued through the half, which ended in a 10-2. Paper Rex were riding the waves at this point, surfing their way to a clean 13-3 win on their map pick. Every member of the PRX squad went positive, with rookie PatMen and Jinggg both going +7 in terms of kill differential.
Sunset neck-and-neck until thriller finish
The second map was SEN’s pick, and they opted for a Neon + Breach/Fade core while starting on defense, getting off to a 4-0 start. A 4K from Jinggg, however, opened up the scoreboard for Paper Rex, following which they won another two rounds to bring the score to 4-3. Sentinels were able to keep things close, eventually ending the half with a slight lead at 7-5. Post the side-swap, PRX kicked off the half with another pistol win and anti-eco, but Sen bounced back with three round wins of their own, including a round with Zellsis clutching out a 1v2 with a 4K.
Paper Rex locked in with three round wins of their own to bring the score to 10-10, then 11-11. Paper Rex got to match point first, but despite the economic deficit, Sen looked like they were going to be able to push the map to OT. It came down to a 1v1 between JohnQT and f0rsakeN, where the latter dropped down the smoke and finished defusing the spike to deny overtime, winning PRX the series 2-0.
Jinggg had the most kills on Sunset, as well as throughout the series, going +12 in terms of kill differential. Every member of the PRX squad except f0rsakeN went positive, which the latter attributed to him stepping into an IGL/leadership position. Post-win, f0rsakeN said, “It’s hard for me to IGL and frag at the same time, but I trust my team. I don’t need to frag as long as I’m a good leader.”
The road up ahead
With this win, Paper Rex will go up against Wolves Esports in the upper bracket finals, their first Chinese opponent. En route to their road so far, they’ve taken down two NA and EMEA reps, and fallen to fellow Pacific rep Gen.G. It remains to be seen which of these two Asian reps will lock in the first grand finals spot at Masters Toronto.
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Cover photo courtesy of Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
