EDG round out playoffs with 2-1 over Paper Rex

With a 2-1 scoreline, EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 S1Mon Hsien Meng-Hsun (谢孟勋) ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) have defeated Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #3 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov in the last Champions 2024 group stage match. EDward Gaming are now in playoffs, their fourth appearance in the knockout stage since China's inclusion in the VCT circuit. Paper Rex are eliminated from Champions contention, leaving Pacific with only one representative, DRX DRX Korea Rank #4 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Athan Na Ha-jun (나하준) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) , in the tournament.

This series is the sixth time both teams have played against each other, with Paper Rex coming out on top in four of their five previous series. Additionally, both teams had placed in the top eight at every international event since LOCK//IN.

The map veto began with Bind and Haven off the table. EDward Gaming picked Icebox, while Paper Rex took the series to Sunset. Ascent and Abyss were banned next, leaving Lotus as the decider series. Including all of Stage 2 and previous Champions matches, the two teams had nearly identical map pools, meaning the veto did not necessarily favor either team. With both teams at a 50% win rate on Icebox, Paper Rex's recent results on the map likely gave EDG confidence in the pick, while PRX's own 6-0 record on Sunset left it as a no-brainer for them despite EDG's similar 3-0 streak.

“We want to present a beautiful match to all viewers,” ZmjjKK said prior to the series. “We're always friendly, as long as KangKang doesn't [pose against us],” f0rsakeN added. “If he does, something will do it too.”

The match began on Icebox, with an aggressive push into B backsite and a something 4K winning the opener. Paper Rex won the following two rounds with few complications, but EDG took their first round in the eco. Another Paper Rex round led to a timeout from the opposing coach, Muggle . Despite keeping rounds close, PRX continued extending their lead.

By the end of the half, EDward Gaming had won a couple of rounds, first thanks to a Viper's Pit and then by punishing a misplaced Sage Barrier. PRX remained in the lead, converting a 3v5 on the pistol and leaving their opponents helpless for the next round and drawing out EDG's second tactical pause. Two early fights on A followed, which the Southeast Asian team won comfortably to close out map one 13-3.

“They always change their strategy when they play against us,” Muggle said before the second map. “So we'll just go on our instinct and reaction.”

Moving onto Sunset, a rapid counter prevented EDG's plant, giving Paper Rex the pistol. PRX denied a mid play to win the anti-eco, but the rifle advantage was too strong to overcome in the bonus round. Patience paid off for the top China seed, who were able to string together three rounds and force a Paper Rex timeout. Three questionable rounds followed, but Paper Rex were able to recover and take the lead. EDG took two to hurt the opposition's economy, but the half ended 6-6 after a successful retake.

The second pistol round came down to the wire, as Paper Rex were close to converting a 2v4 after a quick lurk through mid by d4v41 . EDG narrowed the fight down to a 1v1, which S1Mon won. nobody and Smoggy were key the next three rounds, as they combined their utility to prevent PRX from gaining any advantage. The duo ended the defensive half with 13 eliminations and over 230 ADR apiece, with a 1.81 and 2.16 rating, respectively.

The attackers finally won a pair of rounds to set the score 11-8, but Smoggy helped damage their economy, leaving Paper Rex with a half buy for the final round. With weakened opponents, EDward Gaming won Sunset 13-8 and tied the series 1-1.

The Chinese roster remained on track to kick off the decider map. They punished an early defensive push to win round 1, and eased into A to take the next pair of rounds. A timeout helped Paper Rex get a read on their eco, but their weaponry was too weak to win the round. Their low credits forced them to save a round later, which left alecks dissatisfied. He burned the team's second tactical pause, a much needed reset for his squad.

Paper Rex finally showed up on the scoreboard with two comfortable round wins, but CHICHOO and ZmjjKK returned momentum to the attacking team, forcing Paper Rex onto a half buy for round 10. Eventually, an indecisive round from EDG helped PRX win a third round, but the China representatives recovered in their last attack round, baiting out important utility to set the score 9-3 ahead of the break.

nobody and Smoggy continued their dominance in the second half, with CHICHOO cleaning up the crumbs. They found back-to-back quadruple kills to reach 11-4. f0rsakeN found his own multikill to win a consolation round, but it was quickly answered by EDG herding the offense into C, where the duo-of-the-match laid in wait to shut down a late execute.

As if coordinating through match chat, both teams decided to fight EDG's match point outside of A. Paper Rex were able to draw out defensive utility, in exchange for better positioning for EDG. A second fight ensued, costing PRX three players but breaking through their first obstacle. nobody's quick flank was shut down, leaving a 2v1 and A free to plant. Smoggy remained unaccounted for, however, and he used a Meddle on default, leaving the plant weak enough to be sprayed down through the smoke. This ended the map 13-4 and the series 2-1, sending EDG to playoffs.

Following the series, Paper Rex have now been eliminated from Champions 2024. This is the first time they have failed to make it out of a group stage since Champions 2022, and only the third time they have been unable to reach playoffs since their international debut.

“We adjusted quickly on map two and map three,” CHICHOO said after the match. “We've played Paper Rex so many times that we were able to fix our mistakes on the last two maps.”

CHICHOO confirmed they were expecting Paper Rex's comp change to counter EDG's agent pick on Lotus. “We predicted they would try this comp,” he stated.

Before the draw show, he said he did not want to play against the fellow Chinese squad, Trace Esports Trace Esports China Rank #4 LuoK1ng Zhang Zhanpeng (张展鹏) Kai Lu Zhinan (卢智楠) FengF Song Xuefeng (宋学锋) heybay Ho Shun Hei Biank Zhong Jianfei (钟剑飞) .

Unfortunately for CHICHOO, due to the random draw, seeding, and restrictions to increase match diversity, EDward Gaming will next play against Trace Esports on August 14.