The curse has been broken. The runaway train has reached its final destination. Today, Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 PatMen Patrick Mendoza Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov triumphed at Masters Toronto, claiming their long-awaited first trophy with a 3-1 victory over FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder .

The series unfolded on Sunset, Icebox, Pearl, and Lotus, Sunset and Pearl being Paper Rex's picks and Icebox and Lotus being FNATIC's picks. Every single map came down to the wire as Paper Rex won Sunset 13-11, FNATIC eked out Icebox 17-15, and Paper Rex took Pearl 13-10 and Lotus 14-12.

For a while, it seemed that Paper Rex had run out of chances to win trophies. Their last appearance in a grand final was a heartbreaking loss to Evil Geniuses at Champions 2023, and just two months ago they were nearly prevented from qualifying for the Stage 1 playoffs at all by DetonatioN FocusMe.

But with newfound belief, momentum, and a fresh face in PatMen , the train worked its way track by track back to the top of the world, bringing home the SEA region's first trophy and Pacific's third.

The final obstacle in the train's path was a FNATIC squad with just as much momentum at their backs. The old gods of EMEA had carved a path through the lower bracket, eyes trained on the throne that their core once laid claim to for two consecutive tournaments in 2023.

In the pre-match teaser, f0rsakeN only issued a challenge: “Get ready to get wrecked. The train is coming.”

Paper Rex kicked things off on Sunset

On paper, the map veto was stacked in Paper Rex's favor. As the upper bracket finalists, they banned Haven and Ascent, leaving FNATIC's permaban of Pearl in the pool and Sunset, a map they'd never won on the global stage, as the first map of the series.

In the first half, it appeared as though things would play out as expected. FNATIC had a hot 4-0 start, but Paper Rex stabilized with eight rounds in a row to take an 8-4 lead, FNATIC's site holds collapsing under pressure. But a second pistol win enabled FNATIC to fight back into the map, at one point pulling ahead 10-9.

The last round was the ultimate decider. Paper Rex went for a creative set piece in B main, boosting Jinggg up on d4v41 's Sage wall to collect two early picks and close out the map 13-11.

Alfajer continued to demonstrate MVP-level form with a server-leading 23 kills, but f0rsakeN's impact pulled his team over the line with 22 kills and a 1.35 rating.

FNATIC outlasted Paper Rex on Icebox

Icebox was a slugfest all the way through. Paper Rex took an early 4-0 lead, but an Alfajer 4K in the next round helped FNATIC stabilize and pull the scoreline back to 5-5, eventually ending the half 6-6.

In the second half, FNATIC looked primed to close out the map easily. The threat of Chronicle 's Sage walls forced Paper Rex to play aggressive postplants, putting them in perfect positions to get picked off by kaajak 's Operator. The Duelist was a first kill machine, racking up 11 total in the map and only three first deaths, propelling his side to a 12-7 lead.

But Paper Rex refused to yield, winning five rounds in a row to force overtime. Both teams struggled to pull away from the other, but FNATIC looked just a bit more comfortable and finally secured the map 17-15. Unfazed by the pressure of his first international final, kaajak ended the map with 32 kills and 166 ADR.

Paper Rex took the lead on Pearl

Forced to play their permaban, FNATIC chose to gamble on individual prowess with a double-Duelist composition featuring Alfajer on Neon and kaajak on Yoru.

“We didn't know what to do on Pearl, to be honest,” Alfajer commented in the post-match press conference. “We locked, we didn't even prep, we didn't even play prac on it, maybe one, and we just [went] on official.”

Despite the lack of preparation, FNATIC didn't make it easy for their opponents, even leading 9-5 at one point after winning both pistols and some crucial ultimate rounds. Alfajer didn't disappoint on Neon, going 16/9 with 219 ADR in just the first half.

The experience difference, however, came into play in the second half as Paper Rex won eight out of the last nine rounds to win Pearl 13-10. FNATIC struggled to find solutions to Paper Rex bombarding them with set plays involving many Judge entry kills from Jinggg. Statistically, d4v41 and f0rsakeN led the team from the rearguard with 20 kills apiece and respective ratings of 1.33 and 1.32.

The train made its final stop on Lotus

The final map of Masters Toronto was previously a stronghold for both teams, and neither side disappointed as it began with FNATIC immediately winning a Thrifty in round 2. Individual heroics fired off from both sides, but it was Paper Rex who led 7-5 at the half after it ended with a stunning clutch from something .

The train accelerated, turning a 7-7 deadlock into an 11-7 lead, spurred on by the cheers and support from the Toronto crowd.

The comeback kings of FNATIC held on. Chronicle and Alfajer were the headliners, just as they had been all event, collecting three 4Ks between them to take a 12-11 lead for FNATIC, only one round away from taking the series to Split.

Where they might've crumbled in the past, however, Paper Rex stood proud, taking Lotus to overtime, closing it out 14-12 with a 2v4 from f0rsakeN and something, and staking claim to their destiny as champions.

The title of tournament MVP and the bracelet that came with it were awarded to f0rsakeN, who recorded an 81/75/32 KDA, 223 ACS, and a 1.11 rating in the final on Controller and Initiator, all while serving as the hivemind's ever-reliable in-game leader.

Emotions ran high for Paper Rex after the win, multiple members of the team being moved to tears after almost five years of toil.

“We've been working hard, very hard,” d4v41 said in the post-match interview.

"We realized that the most important thing for us was to be a lot more [calm] rather than rushing things," alecks explained in the post-match press conference when asked what the key difference was for Paper Rex to overcome their past mistakes. "We just learned to play a little bit better and a little bit smarter."

Gratitude was another common theme for the team. “I'm just very thankful and grateful for my life,” Jinggg said. “I was just a kid that wanted to play games and now I'm a Masters winner.”

alecks addressed the fans, “We feel every shout on stage. Even in the coaching booth, I can feel everything guys. It's amazing and I want to thank all of you guys…and hopefully more to come.”

PRX, champions at last. (Photo by Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games)