Nongshim RedForce Nongshim RedForce Korea Rank #2 Persia Yang Zi-on (양지온) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) margaret Kim Ji-woo (김지우) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) has defeated BOOM Esports BOOM Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #3 dos9 Zhumagali Dastan Famouz Fikri Zaki Hamdani Shiro Hildegard Arnaldo NcSlasher Sheldon Andersen Chandra BerserX Rizkie Adla Kusuma 2-1 in Pacific's first elimination series. The Korean roster remains in the tournament, and will next play against the winner of Rex Regum Qeon vs. Team Secret. This loss being BOOM's second in a row, they are now eliminated from Kickoff, needing to wait until Stage 1 to return to the server.

This series is the third encounter between the teams, with Nongshim, then playing as Sin Prisa Gaming Sin Prisa Gaming Inactive Persia Yang Zi-on (양지온) margaret Kim Ji-woo (김지우) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) , winning both previous encounters, including a denied reverse sweep in the 2024 Ascension grand final to earn a slot in VCT Pacific.

In the map selection, BOOM replicated their veto against T1, banning Split and Haven while picking Pearl as the series' opening map. Nongshim, meanwhile, chose to ban Abyss, pick Bind, arguably one of BOOM's better maps, and leave Lotus as the decider, a historically strong map for both teams.

The match began on Pearl, with Nongshim taking the pistol round on the defense. Nongshim's Vyse-Killjoy composition kept BOOM out of the half, giving the Ascension winners an early lead and forcing out the opposing timeout by 5-1. Dambi 's Neon Operator hold on B got his team two flawless rounds, and a Persia 3K allowed RedForce to stay in the lead, eventually reaching 9-1 after the anti-eco. dos9 won an Astra 1v1 for BOOM's second win, and his utility and 2K the following round helped his team win a 3v3 for their third point of the series.

Persia was key throughout Nongshim's defense.

The second pistol went Nongshim's way after a quick B push, and, due to the natural ebb-and-flow of Valorant's economy, BOOM Esports was left at a massive disadvantage compared to their opponents. This forced them onto a disjointed force-buy after Nongshim won the first rifle vs. rifle round. BOOM found two eliminations on B long, but Nongshim's remaining players were the ones best suited for a post-plant setup, letting Francis and Persia funnel BOOM into Ivy 's crosshair, ending Pearl 13-3 with the South Korean team in the lead.

BOOM immediately doubled their total points in the first rounds of Bind, the second map. After taking the pistol round, Famouz found a 4K to help his team win the bonus round, despite Persia's best effort. margaret found two Sheriff kills and used an early Steel Garden to secure RedForce's first point, and a Persia ace closed the gap the next round. Despite BOOM having the advantage, Nongshim scored back-to-back clutch wins courtesy of a Dambi 4K and Francis 1v3, forcing the Indonesian lineup to call for their tactical pause.

Bind was a chaotic performance from both sides, but BOOM stabilized and came out on top in the end

The score tied once again after BOOM won a thrifty, and the clutches continued with BerserX taking a 1v1 and Ivy a 1v4 on their eco. BOOM returned from halftime to take the second pistol round, and set themselves up with a comfortable lead after taking the bonus, forcing Nongshim's timeout and weakening their economy. BOOM continued winning rounds, even at player disadvantages, and kept RedForce out of the map, only dropping one round towards the end. In the end, BOOM took Nongshim's map 13-7, sending the series to the third map.

Holding against Nongshim's B execute, Boom took the pistol round on the decider, Lotus. Nongshim took advantage of their Neon-led composition to take an early lead, but the Indonesian squad kept the score close, equalizing with three successful retakes in a row ahead of the halftime break.

Nongshim uses a quick set play to reach match point.

Francis cleaned up the second pistol round to reclaim the lead for his team. He kept up his stellar performance in the second half, the only player to exceed 20 eliminations in the final map and aiding his team with 9 assists. Nongshim opted for a fast push outside C to reach match point, and a consolation round from BOOM was not enough, as RedForce won Lotus 13-9, ending the series 2-1.

The series means Nongshim continues in Kickoff contention, as the Ascension winners look to qualify to their first-ever VCT international event. BOOM's loss means the Indonesian organization will be unable to make Masters: Bangkok, and the early exit leaves them without Championship points from the first Pacific tournament of the year.