Paper Rex defeats ZETA 2-0 in Kickoff lower bracket

Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #2 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov has defeated ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #2 Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe CLZ Hikaru Mizutani SyouTa Shota Aoki Xdll Yuto Mizomori in the Pacific Kickoff lower bracket, eliminating the Japanese squad after a 2-0 victory. They will next play against either Global Esports or DetonatioN FocusMe to continue their run. ZETA Division is eliminated from contention, and will return to the server after the conclusion of Masters: Bangkok.

The teams have played each other on four occasions prior to this match, but only once in 2024. Paper Rex has defeated ZETA both times they have played in the Pacific League, while ZETA only has one victory in an official, non-best-of-one match. ZETA's win was also the last time the matchup happened in an elimination series, during the Reykjavík 2022 lower bracket.

Paper Rex arrived at the lower bracket after a loss to T1 T1 Korea Rank #3 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) Sylvan Go Young-sup (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) , despite earning a higher seed and receiving a bye. ZETA also descended after one series, losing 2-0 to débutants 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) , the 2024 Ascension winners.

“We know our biggest mistakes, we just have to learn from them,” f0rsakeN said regarding their defeat earlier in the bracket. “I think the map pool is really good for us,” he added, commenting on their prospects for this event.

Starting the series, Paper Rex took the lead after winning the pistol and bonus round on Lotus. SyouTa won a 1v4 Sheriff clutch to put ZETA on the board, but a point for Paper Rex led to the Japanese team's first timeout. The Southeast Asian lineup continued the half with their signature style, initially overwhelming ZETA Division, leaving them without recourse on the defense. ZETA bounced back, but was only able to take an additional three rounds, ending the half 8-4 in Paper Rex's favor.

ZETA took the second pistol round, but early picks from Paper Rex granted them the eco round, which helped them reach double digits after the anti-eco. A point for PRX forced ZETA to use their pause, but something found back-to-back multikills to give his team a player advantage the final two rounds. PRX corralled ZETA into the attacker spawn, ending the first map with a quick 13-5.

The match continued on Fracture, where Paper Rex won the pistol round on their defense. The Southeast Asian lineup looked poised to win the bonus, but Dep 's clutch set ZETA on track to win three rounds. The score remained close, with Paper Rex eventually taking the lead with six points. ZETA matched PRX's rounds after another Dep clutch and back-to-back triple kills from the Neon player, sending the second map to the break at 6-6.

The Japanese lineup won the second pistol round, but Paper Rex was able to win their eco round, not letting ZETA take the lead. After 8-8, PRX took the lead and kept ZETA out of the series, reaching match point after ZETA's timeout by anticipating the retake with something 's Breach utility. The map ended after PRX held against ZETA's south-side crunch attempt, the attackers' economic superiority helping something find a triple kill. Now up a player and with better weaponry, Paper Rex ended Fracture comfortably, concluding their map 13-8 and ending the series 2-0.

After the series, f0rsakeN explained the Fracture composition change from Tejo to Skye. “I'm bored after playing Tejo, I just wanted to play Skye today.” He ended Fracture with 23 eliminations, 15 assists, and a 1.70 rating, marginally lower stats than on Tejo against T1 but with 9 more assists.

When asked about which team Paper Rex was looking out for, he mentioned T1. “Since we lost to them,” he explained.

T1 would need to lose a series or meet Paper Rex in the grand final for the rematch to occur. Meanwhile, Paper Rex can remain in Kickoff contention with their next series, against the winner of Global Esports vs. DetonatioN FocusMe. A victory would represent an opportunity for Paper Rex to attend Masters: Bangkok, the first international event in Southeast Asia, and earn points for Champions: Paris qualification, as well as claim the Kickoff title, which they lost to Gen.G in 2024.