Evil Geniuses nudge Paper Rex out of Masters, eye Fnatic in Grand Final

Pacific’s last bastion of hope, Paper Rex, were brought down by Evil Geniuses in last night’s five-game lower bracket final.

The teams began facing off in Fracture, where Evil Geniuses came out of the gate swinging with a 9-4 first half. They swiftly closed it out in the second half but it wasn’t without resistance from Paper Rex. Fracture goes to EG, 13-7.

Next up was Lotus, finally Paper Rex’ pick. The game was a lot closer this time, and it was even pushed to overtime. Wang “Jingg” Jing Jie led Paper Rex to their 14-12 win, reaching 319 ACS with a 28/19/4 KDA on his Raze.

Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie does his walkout for the match versus Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses were looking to regain the lead on Split, another one of their map picks. However, despite their strong 8-4 first half, Paper Rex brought it back in the second half, barely gave EG any room to breathe, and took the map 13-10. The Pacific representatives now had the lead in the series and has placed themselves in match point. 

Determined to stay in the running, Evil Geniuses continued to hold on for their spot. Heroics from Kelden “Boostio” Pupello and Corbin “C0M” Lee allowed them to do so, taking Pearl 13-6 and denying the series from Paper Rex.

Kelden “Boostio” Pupello in the middle of the match versus Paper Rex.

Now the match has come to a head, with only Ascent left to decide each team’s fate. Paper Rex managed to take the first three rounds, but they would not see the victory screen again until the last round of the half. The 8-4 half was one-sided towards Evil Geniuses, but Paper Rex swung back in the second half. Unfortunately, Max “Demon1” Mazanov on Jett looked unstoppable, giving Evil Geniuses the map and a ticket to face Fnatic in the grand final. Demon1 concluded Ascent with a 28/13/3 scoreline and 353 ACS.

During the post-match interview, Head coach Christine “potter” Chi said that they’re eager for the rematch, especially after the dominance that Fnatic showed when the two faced in the upper bracket final. Kelden “Boostio” Pupello added that the squad is confident that they will win versus Fnatic and take the championship. However, Paper Rex coach Alexandre “alecks” Sallé disagrees, predicting a 3-0 win in favor of Fnatic for the final.

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