Gen.G reach upper final with 2-0 win

After a 2-0 victory, Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #2 Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Meteor Kim Tae-O (김태오) Lakia Kim Jong-min (김종민) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) have secured a top-three placement at Masters Madrid. Their opponents, Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov , are now in the lower bracket, and can no longer lose a match if they wish to continue in the event.

With this result Gen.G have extended their winstreak to eight series, as they have not lost a match since their first matchup against Paper Rex in Pacific Kickoff. They are also the third South Korean roster to reach the top three at an international event, and are one win away from being the first Korean representatives at an international grand final.

Meanwhile, the Champions 2023 finalists maintain their hopes of winning their first title, but will need to win three matches in a row to do so.

Paper Rex picked Split as the first map of the series, the only map they took from Gen.G in the Kickoff grand final. The two teams kept their new composition, opting for a mirror matchup. The double-duelist, double-controller with Omen was previously the only agent combination with which Gen.G had found success on the map.

After losing the pistol round, Gen.G gained a comfortable lead. They picked apart Paper Rex's defense, shutting them out of the map for eight rounds in a row. It wasn't until round 11 that Paper Rex reappeared, an early mid push granting them their third round. The half ended 8-4 for the Korean squad, a favorable score going into defense.

Lakia was pivotal for their offense. His Skye contributed with both assists and eliminations, as he reached halftime with a 92% KAST and 1.46 rating.

Coming into the second half, Paper Rex once again opened with a pistol win. They were able to narrow the gap, eventually setting the score 7-9, but their weaker performance on rifle rounds continued. The following round Karon found a crucial double kill after an aggressive play. Gen.G was able to leverage that momentum to reach map point, and were able to win the map after a final consolation round for their opponents.

“Paper Rex are infamous, but I feel like [our] players can match up to their firepower as well,” head coach solo said after the match. He told the team to “fight aggressive teams with aggressive attitude, don't be afraid, don't give them respect.”

Lotus was the following map, selected by Gen.G. They won their first pistol of the match, and set themselves up for a dominant half after finding all five kills on their bonus round. Once more, Gen.G was superior during rifle rounds, and they won another five rounds in a row to secure the defense. Paper Rex were able to adapt, however, winning three rounds of their own and setting the score 8-4.

Paper Rex extended the streak with another three rounds in the second half, but Gen.G answered back with an eco win on round 16. The Southeast Asian squad managed to draw the scoreline for the first time in the series at 9-9. A 1v1 clutch from Lakia helped secure their tenth round, and Gen.G went on to win the next four rounds to close out the map 13-9.

Munchkin attributed their success on the map to their pre-game preparation. “We're familiar with going up against compositions with Cypher,” he said. “We had some miscommunication, but were able to set it straight.”

He also confirmed they have not felt much pressure so far. “There's a little bit of pressure, but not enough to crack us."