VCT 2022 - APAC Challengers Recap

Due to the relatively small size of the various Asian and Oceanic regions, qualifying teams were brought together in VCT 2022 - APAC Challengers with two available spots for VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík that were awarded to Paper Rex and XERXIA.

Paper Rex:

This Singapore-based organization had a very eventful year with Challenger participations in all Stages of the initial season of VCT. A highlight in their tournament record was qualifying for VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Group Stage. However, their run was cut short by Papara SuperMassive preventing them from moving out of the Group Stage. Given their considerably consistent tournament placements, they decided on a single roster change which involved the replacement of Zhan "shiba" Teng Toh by Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie.

The first stop in their path to Masters Iceland was VCT 2022 - Malaysia & Singapore - Stage 1 - Main Event, which they were able to dominate effortlessly with six consecutive wins without losing a single map. The only team to come close to giving them a hard time was BLEED Esports, which managed to force overtime on Fracture in the Grand Finals matchup only to be defeated 18-16 and eventually lose the series 3-0.

Although the opponents they were pitted against in the APAC Challengers had qualified after dominating in respective regions, Paper Rex managed to maintain consistency and repeat the same performance again. Their first matchup was against that had qualified after placing 2nd in VCT 2022 - Vietnam - Stage 1 - Main Event and then winning the Group B Play-in bracket. However, Paper Rex became an obstacle in their tournament run as they were defeated 2-0 before they reached a double-digit score on either map. Their next opponent in the Group Stage became responsible for the first map loss for Paper Rex as they took Breeze 14-12 on Overtime. Nonetheless, Paper Rex was able to comeback stronger than ever on decider and earn a ticket to the Playoff stages.

With regional tournaments and Group Stages acting like filters sieving out teams based on the skill difference, the Playoff stages allegedly featured the best teams in the APAC region but only XERXIA was able to give them a run for their money since the rest of the matchups fell 2-0 to Paper Rex. It is worth noting that XERXIA faced off twice against Paper Rex in the Playoffs, once in the 2nd round of Upper Bracket and then in the Grand Finals with the latter being the more entertaining series of the two.

Winning the Upper Bracket Final against BLEED Esports was sufficient to earn them a spot at VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík, but they couldn’t stop themselves from ending the tournament on a high note and gain a greater share of the Prize Pool by defeating XERXIA 3-2 in the Grand Finals. A key to the team’s success was the versatility and mind-blowing use of abilities by Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto, who finished the tournament with 1.24 Rating, and 270 ACS while trying out unorthodox picks like Neon and Yoru. In the Grand Finals matchup alone, he was able to get 99 kills across five maps.

XERXIA:

While most teams made a change or two to their roster in the off-season, a few organizations decided to indulge in complete roster revamps and X10 Esports was amongst the latter category as they decided to release their entire roster on the expiration of their contracts. The all-Thai lineup had been a dominant force in the region, not only winning multiple Thailand Challengers events and VCT 2021 - Stage 1 - South East Asia Masters, but also placing 7th-8th at VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík. They had managed to qualify for VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021, and somehow clutched their way out of the Group Stage despite having to face off against the likes of Envy and Vivo Keyd Stars. Unfortunately, M3 Champions, previously known as Gambit Esports cut their run short in the first round of Playoffs.

Following the completion of the event, Patiphan "patt" Chaiwong, announced his departure from the Valorant scene and return to competitive Overwatch with the LA Gladiators. So, when XERXIA acquired this roster, he was replaced with . The team initiated their tournament record with a spectacular victory at FPSThailand VALORANT Tournament and then VCT 2022 - Thailand - Stage 1 - Main Event. Their dominance was eminent from the Group Stage itself, which they left with a 3-0 record maintaining the same form in the Playoffs against another VCT 2021 Champions Participant, FULL SENSE. That match ended with XERXIA emerging victorious 2-0, and better yet without letting their opponents take more than a total of 10 rounds over two maps. In the Finals matchup, Made in Thailand was able to sneak a map past them, but the result did not bear good news for the team as XERXIA was declared the winners.

This win earned them a direct invite to Group C of VCT 2022 - APAC Challengers, where their initial matchup resulted in a close victory against Onic Esports, where they were almost eliminated on consecutive maps. A last-minute comeback from 2-10 helped the team progress further into the tournament. Unfortunately, however, due to technical issues they had to forfeit their following matchup against BLEED Esports forcing them to relegate to the knockout stage and once again face Onic Esports. This time fate decided to side with them as they effortlessly defeated the team 2-0 to qualify for the Playoffs. The Indonesian team BOOM Esports could do little to rival them with all attempts at come back being rendered futile by XERXIA.

In Round 2 of Upper Bracket, they went head-to-head with Paper Rex for the first time. Although both teams had had a good record in recent times, Paper Rex had dropped far less maps and held onto their consistency for longer. This was evident in the matchup as XERXIA encountered their first official loss of the season. It wouldn’t be fair to address this loss as an entirely one-sided affair since XERXIA did manage to take 7 rounds on Bind and 11 on Haven. On Haven, they were 11-10 by round 21 and only a couple more rounds would’ve offered them enough leeway for attempting comeback in the series.

With this loss, they were demoted to the Lower Brackets with three more matchups lying in their way to the Masters qualification spot against Persija Esports, BOOM Esports, and BLEED Esports respectively. Amongst these matches, BLEED Esports came close to eliminating them with the decider going to overtime. Nutchapon "sScary" Matarat played a crucial role in saving this matchup finishing with a 1.46 Rating and 297 ACS.

In the Grand Finals matchup, it was yet another head-to-head with Paper Rex but this time XERXIA were able to give them a hard time by taking alternate maps and forcing the decider on a Bo5 matchup. By halftime of the decider, scores were tied up at 6-6 adding to the aura of excitement surrounding the series. Following the start of the second, however, XERXIA couldn’t restrain PRX any further and had to accept the loss gracefully.