Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #5 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov have announced the withdrawal of Benedict "Benkai" Tan from the team's active roster following their qualification to Masters: Tokyo.

The move marks the IGL's first step back from the starting five in his nearly three-year stint with the organization in two different titles. Following his switch to Valorant while previously under Paper Rex's CS:GO division, Benkai led the team to multiple regional wins in addition to two APAC-wide championships and a second-place finish in Masters: Copenhagen during the pre-partnerships era.

Leading up to the announcement, Benkai had not seen play on the Paper Rex roster in nearly two months during the regular season of VCT Pacific, having played his last match in Week 4 of the season while having a 2-2 record. From Week 5 and onward, Ilya "something" Petrov replaced Benkai as a full time addition. The switch catapulted PRX to a 7-2 record to finish off the season's group stage, while also going on to win playoffs without dropping a single match in the process, having not lost a single game in eight matches.

The organization cited an emphasis on roster stability as a factor in moving Benkai to the bench, pivoting away from their plans of playing with a six-man core during the season.

With Benkai stepping away from the active roster, Patiphan "cgrs" Porsi will also be brought in as the team's official substitute for the remainder of the VCT season, highlighting the possibility of being fielded in place of something for Tokyo should visa issues arise.

Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #5 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov are now: