The fourth day of the VCT Pacific Stage 2 playoffs saw the field of teams cut down to just four, with three of the region's four Champions Paris slots claimed by the end of it.
While celebration erupted on one side of the stage, sadness and uncertainty was present on the other end at the end of today's pair of 2-0 sweeps.
T1 makes quick work of Nongshim
The stakes entering this match were clear for both sides. For
T1
T1
Korea
Rank #2
stax
Kim Gu-taek (김구택)
Meteor
Kim Tae-oh (김태오)
BuZz
Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철)
DH
Kang Dong-ho (강동호)
iZu
Ham Woo-ju (함우주)
, a win secured qualification to Champions through Championship points at the bare minimum, regardless of the result of the second match of the day. For
Nongshim RedForce
Nongshim RedForce
Korea
Rank #4
Rb
Goo Sang-min (구상민)
Persia
Yang Zi-on (양지온)
Francis
Kim Mu-bin (김무빈)
Dambi
Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규)
Ivy
Park Sung-hyeon (박성현)
, a win extended their VCT life span. The Ascension squad entered the playoffs knowing a top-two finish was needed to avoid needing to fight for survival at Ascension this year, while reaching Champions extends their stay in VCT for one more year.
The series opened on Nongshim's pick of Lotus, a map that has been shaky for the squad throughout Stage 2. The team has made a couple of comp changes throughout the stage, at times experimenting with Duelist Dambi on Waylay in a double-Controller, double-Initiator setup. Against T1, Nongshim went back to what was familiar, with Dambi on Neon and Ivy on Deadlock.
While the comp put the Nongshim players on their best roles, Lotus is still one of T1's stronger maps. It was a trademark of their run leading up to and including a trophy-lifting campaign at Masters Bangkok. T1 continued with its double-Duelist look, which has become synonymous with its success, and found great success on its opening attacker side.
T1 opened up on a roll. Neon player iZu caused chaos and capitalized on it, finding five first bloods. He ended the map with a game-high six first bloods. His disruption, paired with BuZz 's support, saw T1 claim ten rounds on the attack side. T1 gave up an eco round to a Nongshim force buy to start the second half, but that was a mere hiccup. T1 gave up four straight rounds, but quickly recovered to steal the Nongshim map pick 13-6.
T1's map pick of Ascent was a fairly strong map for Nongshim in Stage 2. Nongshim went 3-0 on the map with a unique Viper-Omen comp. Meanwhile, T1 had a double-Sentinel comp, with Meteor on Vyse and BuZz on Chamber. Nongshim claimed seven rounds on defense to enter halftime with a slim lead, but that quickly evaporated with losses in the pistol and anti-eco rounds. Five on attack seemed to be more than enough for T1.
Meteor shows great flair to slip the net.T1's excellent control of the map using the double-Sentinel utility made entering either site a nightmare for Nongshim, which did not get its first spike planted until it was down 11-9. Even when the bomb did get down, T1 made use of strong, well-coordinated retakes to secure two consecutive defuses en route to a 13-9 win.
T1 moves on to the lower semifinal to play the winning team between
DRX
DRX
Korea
Rank #3
Flicker
Kim Tae-hee (김태희)
Flashback
Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁)
MaKo
Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관)
free1ng
No Ha-jun (노하준)
HYUNMIN
Song Hyun-min (송현민)
Estrella
Park Gun (박건)
BeYN
Kang Ha-bin (강하빈)
and
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
, while Nongshim now seems poised for a trip to Pacific Ascesion if it wishes to be in VCT in 2026. With the win, T1 clinches a Champions 2026 spot on points.
Rex Regum Qeon sweeps DRX to reach first-ever Champions
In the second elimination match of the day, RRQ went up against DRX in a match that would have Champions Paris implications. A win would secure a top-four finish, which in turn meant earning three championship points. Three points would give the winning team the edge in the battle between the two for third place and, with there being just four teams left, qualification to Champions.
The series opened on Rex Regum Qeon's Icebox, a usually strong map for both squads. Getting the operator into sharpshooter Jemkin 's hands was paramount to RRQ's success on defense. While he did not find as many kills as he may have wanted, the one-shot, one-kill gun set down the longest sightlines of the map to help RRQ to a 9-3 advantage after ending its defender side.
Ice cold from Jemkin to seal what could have been a disastrous round for RRQ.On attack, with plenty of room for error, RRQ cleaned up well, with the pistol and anti-eco the beginning of the end to a clean 13-7 win on their own map pick.
The series then moved to DRX's Corrode, a map that neither team has looked the strongest on. Both teams went for the Omen-Viper Controller pairing that's become popular as of late, but the similarities stop there. While DRX went for Vyse, Fade, and
HYUNMIN
's Neon to complement their Controllers, RRQ went for the aggressive double-Duelist, zero Sentinel approach that they used to eliminate
Gen.G
Gen.G
Korea
Rank #1
Foxy9
Jung Jae-sung (정재성)
Ash
Ha Hyun-cheol (하현철)
t3xture
Kim Na-ra (김나라)
Munchkin
Byeon Sang-beom (변상범)
Lakia
Kim Jong-min (김종민)
Karon
Kim Won-tae (김원태)
just days before.
Disruption was the name of the game for RRQ on defense. On a side without a Sentinel, RRQ won six rounds. With the likes of Jemkin on Waylay and Monyet on Neon leading the charge, sharp mechanics was behind most of that. The pair combined for 22 kills in the half, but the efforts of xffero , who had a match-leading 14 kills in the first half, cannot be understated.
RRQ's made it look easy on attack, with two of the games' most chaotic Duelists attracting the crosshairs of DRX in holding positions. With the ability to enter either site and the ability to take quick control of mid, RRQ broke down DRX's defense to win 13-9.
With the win, RRQ qualifies for its first-ever Champions event, while DRX will have to wait from home. With RRQ securing top four and sitting top-three in the points standings, they will qualify automatically, while DRX is relying on
TALON
TALON
Asia-Pacific
Rank #5
Killua
Tanate Teerasawad
thyy
Anupong Preamsak
Crws
Thanamethk Mahatthananuyut
JitBoyS
Jittana Nokngam
primmie
Papaphat Sriprapha
to lose against
Paper Rex
Paper Rex
Asia-Pacific
Rank #1
PatMen
Patrick Mendoza
Jinggg
Wang Jing Jie
f0rsakeN
Jason Susanto
d4v41
Khalish Rusyaidee
something
Ilya Petrov
in the upper final and then lose against T1 or RRQ in the lower final.
Up next
Pacific Stage 2 is wrapping up, with finals weekend almost here. The next matches are as follows:
- TALON vs. Paper Rex (Upper Final)
- T1 vs. Rex Regum Qeon (Lower Round 3)