The VCT Pacific Stage 1 regular season is over, with playoffs on the horizon. Six teams are fighting for three Masters Shanghai slots. Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #1 Foxy9 Jung Jae-sung (정재성) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) yoman Chae Young-moon (채영문) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) , Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov , and 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) continue to compete for international slots, while Team Secret Team Secret Asia-Pacific Rank #8 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes JessieVash Jessie Cuyco Wild0reoo Brheyanne Christ Reyes 2ge James Goopio Jremy Jeremy Cabrera , T1 T1 Korea Rank #2 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-O (김태오) Sylvan Ko Young-sub (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byung-chul (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) , and TALON TALON Asia-Pacific Rank #16 Crws Thanamethk Mahatthananuyut JitBoyS Jittana Nokngam primmie Papaphat Sriprapha ban Joseph Seungmin Oh Governor Peter No look to squeak their way to Shanghai.

The two teams that proved themselves as the best Pacific Stage 1 regular season teams were DRX and Paper Rex. Both of them made roster changes since the Pacific Kickoff competition, and both improved significantly. Talon Esports used a relatively easy schedule to finish 4-1, only losing to Gen.G.

As for the teams not making it to Shanghai, DetonatioN FocusMe DetonatioN FocusMe Japan Rank #3 Meiy Ibuki Seki Art Jinboong Kim Jin-won (김진원) Akame Yu Gwang-hui (유광희) gyen got their first win across their near two years in franchising. BLEED BLEED Asia-Pacific Rank #21 got their first win of the year, and both Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #20 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kush Bryan Carlos Setiawan Estrella Park Gun (박건) and ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #2 Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe CLZ Hikaru Mizutani SyouTa Shota Aoki Xdll Yuto Mizomori didn't qualify due to the group format.

Top matches from VCT 2024 Pacific Stage 1

Two matches stand out as the best of Pacific Stage 1 heading into the playoffs. To start, we have Gen.G versus DRX in week three. Considering how Gen.G swept DRX at the Pacific Kickoff earlier this year, this was a true test for this adapted DRX roster, and they stepped up to the challenge.

It was a close affair, but the game started with DRX going up in the series on Bind. This is where the new pickup of Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin (강하빈) made his mark regionally, starting on Brimstone. He already played three games with DRX, defeating Team Secret, T1, and Global Esports, but this matchup against the Madrid finalists showed his skills.

He played a solid role to help DRX get the series lead and ended with a strong 17/14/5 playing Sova on Ascent. But when he moved to Omen to mirror rookie sensation Kim "Karon" Won-tae (김원태) on Split, he was the one to lead the lobby. Finishing the series with a match-leading 52 kills, 83% KAST, and 149 ADR, BeYN re-established DRX as the best Korean team in Pacific.

Now, the other key matchup had little impact on playoff qualification asides from giving T1 a scare, but was a great match to watch nonetheless. DFM got their first win as the underdog against T1, who looked like a strong regional team coming out of Kickoff. DFM took map one of Ascent thanks to a near-flawless defense side with Ibuki "Meiy" Seki stepping up on Raze.

The next map, Lotus, was a return to form for T1, but Sunset was another close map similar to Ascent. Similarly to that first map, the information Yusuke "neth" Matsuda got on Cypher led to some great mid-rounding and adaptations. On top of that, he top-fragged with 23 kills, leading to DFM's first win in their season-and-a-half in franchising.

Stars of VCT 2024 Pacific Stage 1

For standout players from the Stage 1 regular season, there are two to mention off the bat: both Kim "MaKo" Myeong-gwan (김명관) and BeYN from DRX. Their flexibility was key to DRX's turnaround from Kickoff, and they both statistically led the region.

MaKo was first in match rating at 1.28, first in K:D at 1.47, and second in ADR with 156.7. As for BeYN, a rookie joining a team just before the regular season began, he was second in match rating at 1.20, second in K:D at 1.30, and led the region in KAST at 85%.

Then again, it's hard not to have good stats when you went undefeated in the Stage 1 regular season. A different player who stood out to help squeak their team into the playoffs was Team Secret's Jeremy "Jremy" Cabrera.

Team Secret finished 3-3, second in their group only behind Gen.G, and a lot of that success was thanks to Jremy's pure fragging ability. He finished the regular season second in ACS with 247.3 and led the region in first kills per round with 0.24.

Stage 1 regular season results

The top three teams from both groups qualified for the Stage 1 playoffs.

Group Alpha

  1. Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #1 Foxy9 Jung Jae-sung (정재성) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) yoman Chae Young-moon (채영문) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) (3-3, +20)
  2. Team Secret Team Secret Asia-Pacific Rank #8 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes JessieVash Jessie Cuyco Wild0reoo Brheyanne Christ Reyes 2ge James Goopio Jremy Jeremy Cabrera (3-3, +18)
  3. T1 T1 Korea Rank #2 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-O (김태오) Sylvan Ko Young-sub (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byung-chul (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) (2-4, -1)
  4. Global Esports Global Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #38 patrickWHO Mark Musni UdoTan Go Kyung-won (고경원) Kr1stal Savva Fedorov kellyS Kelly Sedillo Papi Federico Evangelista (2-4, -22)
  5. BLEED BLEED Asia-Pacific Rank #21 (1-5, -50)

Group Omega

  1. 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) (5-0, +51)
  2. Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov (4-1, +33)
  3. TALON TALON Asia-Pacific Rank #16 Crws Thanamethk Mahatthananuyut JitBoyS Jittana Nokngam primmie Papaphat Sriprapha ban Joseph Seungmin Oh Governor Peter No (4-1, +8)
  4. Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #20 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kush Bryan Carlos Setiawan Estrella Park Gun (박건) (3-2, -12)
  5. ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #2 Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe CLZ Hikaru Mizutani SyouTa Shota Aoki Xdll Yuto Mizomori (2-3, +3)
  6. DetonatioN FocusMe DetonatioN FocusMe Japan Rank #3 Meiy Ibuki Seki Art Jinboong Kim Jin-won (김진원) Akame Yu Gwang-hui (유광희) gyen (1-4, -48)

Prize Distribution

Each team gets one circuit point per match win.

  • 7th-8th = Rex Regum Qeon - 3 points
  • 7th-8th = Global Esports - 2 points
  • 9th-10th = ZETA DIVISION - 2 points
  • 9th-10th = BLEED - 1 points
  • 11th = DetonatioN FocusMe - 1 points

VCT Pacific 2024 Stage 1 playoff preview

The VCT Pacific 2024 Stage 1 playoffs start with a knockout round, then adapt to a double-elimination format after the first round, with the top three teams qualifying for Masters Shanghai.

The knockout round consists of Team Secret versus T1, and Paper Rex versus Talon Esports. The losers are knocked out of the tournament and Masters Shanghai contention.

The teams that get the bye to the upper semifinals are the group leaders, Gen.G and DRX, who both start in the double-elimination format. Gen.G will face the winner of Team Secret and T1, while DRX will face the winners of Paper Rex and Talon Esports. Then, the winners will move to the upper finals, guaranteeing their qualification to Masters Shanghai, while the losers will move to the lower round.

In the end, the two teams that reach the grand final and the team that makes the lower final will all qualify for Masters Shanghai. The winner of the grand final gets three circuit points, but those are the only points offered in this tournament outside of points for every match win.