EDward Gaming and Paper Rex will face off at VALORANT Masters Madrid in their fourth best-of-three series, following matches in Istanbul, Tokyo, and Los Angeles.
SPAIN – Riot Games has revealed the complete schedule for the upcoming VALORANT Masters Madrid, set to be played from March 14-24. It will unfold at the Madrid Arena in Madrid and showcase eight elite teams, with two representatives from each of the International Leagues.
The initial matchups were determined based on their regional standings in the respective KICKOFF event. The Swiss stage follows a format where the top-seeded team from each region competes against a second-seeded team, and at the same time avoids any matchups between teams from the same region. To progress in the Swiss stage, teams must secure two wins before accumulating two losses, within a maximum of three rounds. Each match will be contested as a best-of-three series.
Winners of Round 1 will advance, while those facing defeat will be relegated to elimination matches. Between each round, two completely random draws will determine the matchups, and moving forward, same-region pairings will be allowed. After three rounds of Swiss competition, the top four teams that progress will be identified and proceed to the playoffs.
ALSO READ: VCT Pacific KICKOFF surpasses last year’s league viewership
The tournament will feature two games per day, kicking off with a matchup between FunPlus Phoenix and Karmine Corp. These teams had previously faced off at VCT LOCK//IN early last year although significant changes have occurred since then, with Karmine Corp retaining no members from that encounter, while FunPlus Phoenix have only retained two members in Chang “BerLIN” Po-lin and Zhang “AAAAY” Yang.
In the final Thursday match, there will be another rematch from LOCK//IN between Gen.G and LOUD. The Brazilian side are maintaining continuity with four members from early last year, whereas Gen.G have only retained Kim “Meteor” Tae-o, with the remaining members being new additions including youngster Kim “Karon” Won-tae who will be making his tier-one international debut.
On the second day of the Madrid event, a mouth-watering clash is set between EDward Gaming and Paper Rex. This marks their fourth encounter, following Champions Istanbul, Masters Tokyo, and Champions LA. While EDG’s roster has remained consistent over the years, they will be once again facing a varied iteration of PRX, with each encounter so far always featuring at least a different player – Benedict “Benkai” Tan in Istanbul, Patiphan “CGRS” Posri in Tokyo, Ilia “something” Petrov in Los Angeles, and now, with the addition of Cahya “Monyet” Nugraha in Madrid.
The last matchup of the first round will feature a bout between Sentinels and Team Heretics, where the hometown favorites will face off against the North American powerhouse. After the conclusion of the Swiss stage, which whittled down the competitors to four teams, a random draw will pair them in a double-elimination playoff bracket scheduled to start on Thursday, March 21. The pinnacle of the event will be the best-of-five Grand Finals slated for Sunday, March 24.
In addition, Riot Games has confirmed the unveiling of a new agent prior to the Sunday Grand Finals. A showmatch will take place to showcase the new agent to the public for the first time on the server.
Exclusive drops will be available throughout VALORANT Masters Madrid, including a special “VCT Push Up” playercard to be released during the Grand Finals.
This unique playercard comes with a story from VALORANT Masters Tokyo, recounting the lower final between Paper Rex and Evil Geniuses. During this match, three Indonesian casters, namely Antonius “Son” Willson, Jamal “Jamalismcast” Hasbi, and Lukas “Kocul” Yanto, participated in a celebratory workout to celebrate the success of the Pacific representatives. The sign they displayed reads, “PRX WINS 1 ROUND = 10 PUSH-UPS,” and this moment has been immortalized in the game with the introduction of the playercard.
The schedule and matchups for the opening round of VALORANT Masters Madrid can be found below:
- Mar 14, Thursday – Swiss Stage
- Mar 15, Friday – Swiss Stage
- Mar 16, Saturday – Swiss Stage
- Mar 17, Sunday – Swiss Stage
- Mar 18, Monday – Swiss Stage
- Mar 19, Tuesday – No Matches
- Mar 20, Wednesday – No Matches
- Mar 21, Thursday – Bracket Stage
- Mar 22, Friday – Upper Bracket Finals and Lower Bracket Semifinals
- Mar 23, Saturday – Lower Bracket Finals
- Mar 24, Sunday – Grand Finals
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Cover photo courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
