Fighting for survival in Pacific Kickoff, 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) and Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #13 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kushy Bryan Carlos Setiawan Estrella Park Gun (박건) squared off, with the Korean team coming out on top 2-1.

It was a match of fine margins, with five rounds separating the two sides at the end of three maps and 89 rounds played.

The series opened on Fracture, a map picked by RRQ. Earlier in the competition, they defeated Pacific top dogs Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #1 Foxy9 Jung Jae-sung (정재성) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) yoman Chae Young-moon (채영문) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) in their upper quarterfinal on this map. Against Gen.G, RRQ won 11 rounds on the defense side, and beginning on the defense ran into a stiff test. Part of that can be attributed to the talents of Dambi , who was on Raze rather than the Neon he's made himself known for.

The map was tight, ending with a halftime score of 6-6 and eventually being pushed to overtime thanks to a comeback from NS after trailing 12-9. However, near-flawless rounds from RRQ in overtime saw them take the map and secure their map pick.

Clean shots to close the map for RRQ.

Lotus was Nongshim Redforce's map pick and saw RRQ claw their way back to force overtime. After entering halftime up 7-5, Nongshim reached match point with a 12-9 lead. From there, RRQ won three straight rounds to force overtime, looking to pull off what their opponents could not on the previous map: complete a comeback.

However, a conclusion was far from reached. The two sides traded match points numerous times, continuing through an unprecedented eight rounds of overtime, which resulted in a Nongshim victory after over 90 minutes of play.

An overtime ace from margaret to push Nonhshim closer to a win.

margaret's ace was one of two to occur in the overtime period, with the other coming from RRQ Duelist Jemkin . He had a map-high 38 kills, while the Nongshim Controller duo of Persia and Ivy each had 35 for their team. The final scoreline of 22-20 also set a record for the most rounds ever played in the Pacific region, and forced the teams to a third map.

Heading into this match, Pearl, the series decider, was one of RRQ's most successful maps since the beginning of Kickoff. In earlier matches against DetonatioN FocusMe DetonatioN FocusMe Japan Rank #3 Meiy Ibuki Seki Art Jinboong Kim Jin-won (김진원) Akame Yu Gwang-hui (유광희) gyen and Team Secret Team Secret Asia-Pacific Rank #9 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes JessieVash Jessie Cuyco Wild0reoo Brheyanne Christ Reyes 2GE James Goopio Jremy Jeremy Cabrera , they won 13-3 and 13-4, respectively.

The two teams were tied 6-6 after RRQ finished their attack side, with the round count already being the most that they had given up on the map in 2025. When the teams switched sides, the fast movement of Dambi 's Neon and the lethal utility of Francis 's Tejo made Nongshim's attack nearly unstoppable. Despite giving up an anti-eco and the ensuing bonus round, they bounced back and won six straight rounds to wrap up the map.

A crucial 1v2 from Ivy to reach series point.

Rex Regum Qeon bows out of Pacific Kickoff after three matches played, while Nonshim RedForce continue on in the lower bracket. They will play Thai team TALON TALON Asia-Pacific Rank #12 Crws Thanamethk Mahatthananuyut JitBoyS Jittana Nokngam primmie Papaphat Sriprapha ban Joseph Seungmin Oh Governor Peter No , who is coming off of an upper semifinal 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) .

VCT Pacific Kickoff will continue with the following matches: