Paper Rex took down FNATIC with a 3-1 win in a series full of multiple overtimes to be crowned the winners of Masters Toronto.
CANADA — Track by track, round by round, game by game, the Paper Rex train has reached its final stop at Masters Toronto. And they’ve earned a trophy on the way.
“Get ready to get wrecked. The train is coming.”
PRX f0rsakeN ahead of the grand final to FNATIC
This was their third time in a grand final at an international VALORANT event, aside from two top-three finishes and a top-four, and their journey so far had already been incredible. From a 0-3 record in the group stage of VCT Pacific, to signing PatMen, then barely making playoffs, then qualifying as the third seed for Toronto.
ALSO READ: THE KING OF KINGS: How RRQ Made It to the Top of VCT PACIFIC

This rollercoaster was the case at Masters Toronto as well, where Paper Rex found a clean 2-0 opening win but fell to Gen.G, before barely eking out a win against Team Liquid to qualify for playoffs.
PRX charged through playoffs with the momentum of their Swiss Stage
Paper Rex’s opening game was against G2, where they found a narrow 2-0 win. They took down Sentinels with much more panache. Having shut down two EMEA and NA teams alike, they proceeded to face off against Wolves and win 2-0 again to make it to the grand finals. On the opposite side of the bracket, FNATIC was building up the same kind of steam, taking down RRQ, Sentinels, G2, and Wolves Esports on their way to face off against PRX.
With a veto advantage, Paper Rex chose to ban out their permaban of Haven, as well as Ascent. Paper Rex were here for the third time, in a grand final, with an upper bracket advantage, with a chance to win their first trophy.
“I think the lessons from the two finals we lost – we try not to play so perfect anymore. I think we understand that once any team reaches the final, they’re gonna trade you blow for blow easily and we need to be as calm as we can and accept the fact that sometimes you can’t do anything about the round.”
Coach Alecks, Paper Rex
Paper Rex denies overtime on Sunset for FNATIC
Map one was Paper Rex’s pick of Sunset, a map they had proven they were versatile on, especially with their Sage/double controller composition, and Jinggg’s Raze versus Kaajak’s Neon. The map started strong for FNATIC with a 4-0, but PRX, post a timeout, were able to regroup, closing out the half without losing another round at 8-4, with f0rsakeN finding two 3Ks in the last two rounds.
Despite PRX’s lead, FNATIC made a comeback, winning six out of the following seven rounds to retake the lead and bring the score to 10-9. PRX got to match point first at 12-11, and a crazy Sage wall from d4v41 saw PRX find two early kills, enabling them to win 13-11. The MVP of the map was f0rsakeN, with 255 ACS and two first kills on the Omen.
Icebox goes FNATIC’s way after several rounds of OT
Both teams were rocking a similar composition, close to Icebox’s meta comp, except Paper Rex opted for an Omen instead of a Sage. Map two saw PRX get off to a 4-0 start this time, and just like last map, FNATIC recovered by winning three in a row. The half culminated eventually at 6-6, but FNATIC, thanks to a bonus round and pistol win, were able to bring the score to 10-6, then 12-7.
“Now we’re trying to be positive even though maybe we’re like 7-5 or 0-4 down. We just trust that we still can come back, you know? We don’t give up easily now.”
f0rsakeN, PRX IGL and best VALORANT player in the world
Paper Rex kept their cool and came back with five rounds in a row to push the map to OT. After four cycles of overtime, FNATIC closed it out 17-5, making the tally one map apiece. The MVP for the map was undoubtedly Kaajak on Jett, with 32 kills and eleven first kills.
Paper Rex pick up the pace on Pearl
Pearl was PRX’s map of choice, with both teams opting for a double-duelist comp, where PRX chose the Yoru and Raze while FNATIC picked up Neon and Yoru. The first half saw a similar back-and-forth like the last map, but a huge 4K from Alfajer set FNATIC up with a slight lead at 7-5. However, FNATIC were quick to extend their lead, winning their fifth pistol of the day to bring the score to 9-5 following the bonus.

Paper Rex, however, with a full buy on the attack, came with a ferocity that FNATIC could not quite put a halt to. They won only one more round before the Paper Rex train chugged on to map four, bringing the map tally to 2-1 in PRX’s favor. The MVP for this map was d4v41 on Vyse, with an ACS of 130, although Alfajer had the most kills and damage in the lobby.
Paper Rex take Lotus in a nail-biting finish
The fourth map was Lotus, chosen by FNATIC but also a strong one for Paper Rex. PRX started by winning their second pistol of the day, but FNATIC stole away the antieco. Despite this setback, Paper Rex slowly recovered, in major part thanks to the pressure of f0rsakeN’s Odin, and in the last few rounds of the half, both PatMen and Jinggg found a 3K, while something won the last round of the half with a 4K and a 1v2 clutch to end it 7-5 in PRX’s favor.

With the side swap, FNATIC won their sixth pistol of the day and tied the score up at 7-7. PRX countered with four straight rounds in a row ,but FNATIC answered back with five of their own to get to match point first. PRX would not be denied, as they pushed the map to OT, got match point, then f0rsakeN and something clutched out a 2v4 to win the map 14-12 and the series 3-1, lifting up their first trophy after years.
“I mean it feels amazing. We’ve been through ups and downs, yes that’s true. I think I’m very very thankful that my boys decided to trust in each other and stick it through. I think that what we did, what we accomplished as a team for such a long time, I think I’m very proud of that.”
Coach Alecks, Paper Rex
An absolute run from Paper Rex sees f0rsakeN crowned MVP
1064 days since their first chance at lifting a trophy, Paper Rex had one to their name, and they’d done it with a rookie to boot.

Post their win, the PRX squad immediately jumped and hugged each other, with the emotions and hard work of the past few years turning up. Lifting the trophy along with mindfreak who joined them on stage along with Alecks, the team proved that they were the best at not just having fun anymore but also having the last laugh. Gratitude was a major theme for this team, who were in tears of joy at achieving what they’d chased for so many years. Alecks told the Toronto crowd that he could hear every shout and cheer, all the way in the coaching booth, while the entire squad expressed their joy at finally being able to win, especially in front of the Toronto crowd which cheered them the entire way.
“VALORANT is a game that’s always changing, there’s so many different ways to play it. But this is the Paper Rex way, and we’re gonna keep playing this way! I was just a kid who wanted to play games and look, now I’m a Masters winner!”
PRX Jinggg
The MVP award went to f0rsakeN, the team’s IGL and the player in VCT who has, by far, proven himself incredibly capable of playing almost any agent on VCT at the highest level. He had the highest ACS on his team as well as seven first-kills, all while calling the shots for the team. The crowd chanted MVP as he spoke about what the win meant to him, after all these years.

The Paper Rex train isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. Both Alecks and f0rsakeN have their eyes on winning Pacific their first Champions trophy.
“We’ve been chasing this trophy for so long. Now that we actually have it, we need to revisit our goals. As a coach in VALORANT, I wanna win a grand slam you know, I wanna win Kickoff, Masters, and then Champions. I’ll chase that forever but for now our sights are set on Paris – we’ll try our best to make it there, and after that we’ll try our best to win it.“
Coach Alecks, Paper Rex
For now, however, they can feel the same joy their gameplay brings to their multitude of fans globally, as they finally achieve a long-awaited, much-fought-for dream.
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Cover photo courtesy of Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games