For the past week, Pacific fans awaited to see the best VCT 2024 team to lift the Valorant Champions Tour 2024: Pacific Kickoff. While Paper Rex, the defending champion of the regions, was a fan favourite, they went against the Korean goliath Gen.G in the grand finals to defend their title.
In the best-of-five series, Gen.G dominated the reigning champions and won the grand finals with a 3-1 scoreline to dethrone Paper Rex and crown themselves as the champions. Gen.G will collect the three circuit points in their name and will fly alongside Paper Rex to Madrid for the first VCT Masters of the VCT 2024 season in March 2024.
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Gen.G Dethroned Paper Rex To Become The Pacific Champion And Win The VCT 2024: Pacific Kickoff
After receiving a defeat from Paper Rex in the group stages (2-1), Gen.G had to make his way to the Playoffs after winning the lower bracket and the playoffs. While Paper Rex smoothly qualified for the Playoffs, Gen.G had to win the Playins against ZETA and Team Secret to clinch a spot in the Playoffs.
In the semifinals, Gen.G met PRX's arch-nemesis, DRX, whereas Paper Rex went against T1. After winning their respective semifinals and qualifying for the VCT 2024: Masters Madrid, it was time for the fans to witness the grand finals matchup between Gen.G and Paper Rex. The best-of-five series started on the map of Ascent, where Gen.G started strong and managed to grab a slight lead of 7-5 in the first half. In the second half, Gen.G decimated Paper Rex as they won six back-to-back rounds to close the map with a 13-5 scoreline in their favour.
The second map of Split was also a fast-paced game, but this time, it was in favour of Paper Rex. Paper Rex started the map with utter domination as the scoreline read 6-0 before Gen.G won their first round of the map. While Gen.G tried stopping Paper Rex, PRX had made up their mind to make a comeback, resulting in a 13-4 victory and equalizing the scoreline.
The third map of Lotus was closer than the previous maps. While Gen.G took the initial rounds, Paper Rex read Gen.G well enough to convert their trail into a lead by the end of the first half. When it seemed that Paper Rex would continue its winning momentum to win Lotus, Gen.G's attack in the second half looked flawless. Gen.G penetrated Paper Rex's defences to secure the crucial rounds to win the map with a 13-11 scoreline.
The fourth map of Bind was a do-or-die game for Paper Rex, as Gen.G was one map away from winning the tournament. Gen.G's attack on Bind was strong, and Paper Rex's defence could do nothing in front of them, helping the Korean giants to take an 8-4 lead in the first half. Paper Rex started looking helpless as Gen.G continued their momentum in the second half to win the next five rounds and locked the map and series in their name. With that victory, Gen.G crowned themselves as the champions of the Valorant Champions Tour 2024: Pacific Kickoff.