Benedict "Benkai"
Tan announced he is open to offers while still under contract with
Paper Rex
Paper Rex
Asia-Pacific
Rank #6
mindfreak
Aaron Leonhart
Jinggg
Wang Jing Jie
f0rsakeN
Jason Susanto
d4v41
Khalish Rusyaidee
something
Ilya Petrov
. According to the VCT Global Contract Database, he is signed until 2024.
On his Twitter, Benkai said he is open to relocating and revealed he can speak Chinese, opening himself up to a spot in any of the four International Leagues of the 2024 VCT.
A few days shy of completing three years with the organization, he was officially benched from the team's active roster, later saying he had felt "incredibly drained" after a few months. By the time he was moved off the starting roster, Benkai had already been absent from Paper Rex's games for two months, when the team preferred to move back to a five-man roster and start Ilya "something" Petrov in his place.
China? Americas? EMEA? Pacific? Yes, says Benkai. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
Benkai was one of the founding members of Paper Rex, transitioning to Valorant after eight months with the organization in CS:GO. He led the team to their LAN debut at Masters Berlin and their 2022 highs at Masters Reykjavik and Copenhagen — where the team finished fourth and second, respectively.
He was kept on the roster for 2023, but started just five games. Paper Rex bombed out of LOCK//IN winless and had a rough 2-2 start to the VCT Pacific. something joined the team from Week 3 onwards, and permanently took Benkai's place starting Week 5. That kickstarted an eight-match win streak in which Paper Rex flawlessly took the VCT Pacific crown.
Benkai was only benched two months later, a few days before Masters Tokyo kicked off. Paper Rex went on to finish third in Japan while playing with substitute Patiphan "cgrs"
Porsi. They returned for Valorant Champions 2023, where they lost out on the world championship to
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses
North America
Rank #21
Derrek
Derrek Ha
NaturE
Nicholas Garrison
supamen
Phat Le
icy
Jacob Lange
yay
Jaccob Whiteaker
in a 3-1 grand final.
Come 2024, Benkai won't be the only player Paper Rex will bid goodbye to. The team is also losing star Raze Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie, as he goes away to serve in Singapore's National Service.
In 2024,
Paper Rex
Paper Rex
Asia-Pacific
Rank #6
mindfreak
Aaron Leonhart
Jinggg
Wang Jing Jie
f0rsakeN
Jason Susanto
d4v41
Khalish Rusyaidee
something
Ilya Petrov
will have: