The Pacific region remains the only one of the three VCT regions not to get its hands on an international major's trophy. Though they've come close in the past, with Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #3 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov grabbing second at VCT Masters Copenhagen 2022 and third at Masters Tokyo this year, first place eludes the region.

The other teams in the region aren't exactly slouches either, with DRX DRX Korea Rank #4 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Athan Na Ha-jun (나하준) freeing No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) also having managed podium finishes in past majors. ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #2 Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe CLZ Hikaru Mizutani SyouTa Shota Aoki Xdll Yuto Mizomori and T1 T1 Korea Rank #2 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) Sylvan Go Young-sup (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) , while a tad less impressive placement-wise compared to the aforementioned two, still have looked great throughout the Pacific league and have several talented players.

The question arises: Is this the event where Pacific finally picks up a win? There would be no better event to prove themselves than Champions 2023. The teams must contend against a doubly triumphant FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #3 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder looking for their third trophy in as many tries. There is one thing that could possibly change the narrative for Pacific teams, and Paper Rex in particular - the presence of something at this event.

PRX's newest player has proven to be the ace up their sleeve. Initially joining the team as a sixth member this year, the Russian prodigy quickly proved his mettle during the regular season and enabled Paper Rex to finally take their regional rivals DRX down in the playoffs to push them into the grand finals. In the final, they pulled off a reverse sweep in a rematch against DRX to be crowned the best team of the Pacific. something was the MVP of the playoffs stage, playing three agents, getting 23 first kills, and earning a +31 kill differential.

PRX something with his MVP medal PRX something won an MVP award at the VCT Pacific grand finals, but can he do it again at Champions? (Photo by Riot Games)

Unfortunately, due to visa issues, he could not make it to Masters Tokyo. While the team's sixth player cgrs stepped up admirably, his absence could be considered a key reason for the team's third-place finish at the event. At Champions, however, PRX will have their ace in the hole and face off against the world at full strength. Will that be enough to finally get them and the Pacific region that long-awaited victory on an international stage?

“I will be 100% confident because I will always trust my teammates,” said PRX's f0rsakeN in an interview at Tokyo. “Sometimes it may go down, but our confidence will go back up again.”

While PRX are the regional favorites, DRX DRX Korea Rank #4 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Athan Na Ha-jun (나하준) freeing No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) has also managed international podium finishes in the past. If they can overcome the role issues they've been facing in their six-player roster, they're a serious contender. In particular, during the playoffs stage at Masters Tokyo, Foxy9 barely saw any playtime while Zest didn't have the best performance. If DRX can hammer out the dents in their battle armor, they're definitely capable of a podium finish.

DRX players celebrate a win One of the most storied Valorant teams. A chance again to showcase their prowess. (Photo by Riot Games)

The third team to have qualified for Champions was T1 T1 Korea Rank #2 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) Sylvan Go Young-sup (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) . The squad, newly put together this year, had a bit of a shaky start to the year after an instant elimination in their first game at LOCK//IN. They qualified for the Pacific playoffs as the third seed and placed third in the playoffs. They exited Masters Tokyo during the group stage. Now at Champions, they'll look for their first international success.

Finally, while ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #2 Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe CLZ Hikaru Mizutani SyouTa Shota Aoki Xdll Yuto Mizomori were able to win the Pacific LCQ to qualify for Champions, they looked rocky during the regular season, with a 5-4 standing and a fourth-place finish. In the playoffs, they were eliminated right off the bat. While Laz and his teammate Dep have had consistent impact in almost every game played, the rest of the team is far less reliable, and fixing this will significantly improve their chances of making a deeper run at Champions.

Pacific has come close in the past to grabbing that international victory but has never gone the distance. Paper Rex with something seems to be the strongest team the region has produced to date, and might hopefully get them over the finish line for that long-awaited trophy.