Play in Korea for VCT Pacific Stage 1 wrapped up on Sunday with action in the lower bracket. Four teams fought to stave off elimination, competing for a chance to play at Finals Weekend in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and to inch to one win away from qualifying for Masters London.

Here's how the matches played out.

T1 remains undefeated against Rex Regum Qeon in 2026

With its back against the wall, T1 T1 Korea Rank #2 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) defeated Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #3 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kushy Bryan Carlos Setiawan crazyguy Ngô Công Anh 2-1, sending last year's Pacific Stage 1 champions home to punch its ticket to Vietnam. The match was one to remember for BuZz , who was by far the most dangerous force in the server through three maps.

Play began on RRQ's pick of Haven, where they went with a rather unexpected look. With Jemkin on Waylay and Monyet on Neon, RRQ became the first team in the Pacific playoffs to play post-nerf Waylay. Meanwhile, T1 opted for its double-Duelist look with BuZz on Neon and Meteor on Phoenix, while the ever-flexible iZu was on Chamber.

T1 opted to begin on attack, and BuZz was simply unstoppable from the start. He picked up 18 kills in the first half and went 5-1 in first duels, leading T1 to an 8-4 lead at halftime. Once the teams switched sides, RRQ's theory did not quite translate. After losing the pistol and anti-eco, the team shut down a would-be T1 bonus and then claimed the next round, but was shut out of the rest of the map, losing its pick 13-6.

T1's pick of Lotus was next, with both teams fielding near-mirror comps. With Neon as the lone Duelist, both teams picked the Omen-Viper pairing with Fade. T1 opted for iZu on Killjoy and RRQ with Jemkin on Chamber. If BuZz was the standout Neon on Haven, Monyet was the standout Neon on Lotus. The three-site map leaned rather defender-sided in this occasion, with RRQ being held to just four attacking rounds. Just when the side seemed down and out, Monyet excelled. Well-organized retakes saw RRQ take advantage of overextending T1 players. Monyet was the guiding light for RRQ on Lotus, finishing with a map-high 29 kills, with 19 coming on defense as RRQ won 13-10.

On the decider map of Breeze, both teams fielded the same comp, going for the same slice-heavy, double-Controller, double-Initiator comp with Viper-Harbor, Sova-KAY/O, and Neon. After such a tight series through two maps, Breeze began with disappointment for RRQ. After winning the pistol round, the anti-eco against five Classics was lost, snowballing a dominant defense half for T1 that saw the Korean side claim a 9-3 lead. While RRQ won the second-half pistol and converted the anti-eco, T1 cruised on attack. A string of flawless rounds saw T1 toy with the map to near-perfection, closing out the map and the series with a 13-5 win.

BuZz finished the series with 61 kills, while Monyet's 51 was not enough for RRQ.

Paper Rex wins its third straight RX Derby with 2-1 win over Kiwoom DRX

In a bout between two teams who have been tied together by more than just their names throughout the years, Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov downed Kiwoom DRX Kiwoom DRX Korea Rank #4 Hermes Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱) yong Kim Ho-yong (김호용) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) in three maps, with the final blow an exclamation point on the series.

KRX picked Ascent to start the series, set to play it for the first time since its reintroduction to the map pool. While KRX went with a double-Duelist look with HYUNMIN 's Jett and free1ng 's Waylay, Paper Rex's comp raised eyebrows. In a double-Sentinel look, Jinggg 's Sage complemented d4v41 's Vyse, while something played Yoru for his PRX's first Yoru appearance since Masters Santiago.

While PRX's Sentinel utility allowed for unique approaches on defense, where it really thrived was on attack. A pack mentality approach saw PRX move in unison, with Jinggg's Barrier Orb and Slow Orb effective in slowing down rotates and retakes. Moments of heroics from the likes of MaKo and HYUNMIN delayed the inevitable, but PRX looked stellar in its return to Ascent with a 13-8 win.

PRX's pick of Breeze began with absolute chaos, with a KRX pistol followed by a PRX thrifty, then a KRX round won with just one Guardian, then a PRX round won with guns recycled from the previous round. The teams went red light, green light for the first six rounds before DRX got into an attacking groove, winning out the rest of the half to go up 9-3. KRX won the pistol round to begin the second half and then shut down a force-buy from PRX, which earned them an easy bonus as well. Paper Rex grabbed two rounds once its economy stabilized, but KRX converted soon after, 13-5.

After stealing each other's map picks, focus shifted to the decider map. There's a saying that says all bangers end on Split, but this Split was anything but that. A 1v2 from d4v41 poured momentum into the attacking Paper Rex players to start the map, which was a dominant one from start to finish. Little could be criticized of the way that PRX played out its attack, as it used stellar map control and sharp shooting to lead 11-1 at halftime.

After winning the pistol, PRX went up against a KRX forced buy against weaker guns, and made no mistakes in claiming the near shutout, 13-1.

Up next

The region now shuts down in Korea and sets sail to Vietnam. Finals Weekend is set to take place, with four matches to decide the top four teams in the region. VCT Pacific Stage 1 will continue with the following matches:

• Global Esports vs. FULL SENSE (Upper Final)
• T1 vs. Paper Rex (Lower Round 3)