VCT Pacific Stage 1 2025 saw Southeast Asian teams win big as Rex Regum Qeon are finally crowned, but Korean teams apart from Gen.G slump.
Southeast Asian teams are the big winners as the VALORANT Champions Tour 2025: Pacific Stage 1 concludes. Meanwhile, South Korean teams that previously dominated the region are taking a back seat, but they're not completely out.
If you need a refresher for VCT Pacific Kickoff 2025, check our comprehensive results page here.
Rex Regum Qeon reigns, Gen.G persevere
At the beginning of the season, both teams made slight changes to their roster. The Indonesian squad Rex Regum Qeon let go of Park "Estrella" Geon in favor of Ngô "crazyguy" Công Anh. Meanwhile, Gen.G promoted Ha "Ash" Hyun-cheol from their academy team.
RRQ was a powerhouse in the group stage. They led Group Omega, but competition was tight, and they were tied in match score with three other teams: TALON, T1, and Nongshim Redforce. Despite this, they win out on map score and round differential, giving them the top spot in the group.
Scores in Group Alpha were not as close. Gen.G took sole ownership of third place with a match score of 3-2, just above Paper Rex and paling under DRX and BOOM Esports, the latter of which had a flawless group stage.
RRQ's high placement earned them a bye in the playoffs, starting their journey in the upper bracket semis. Here, their first obstacle was DRX, which they dispatched promptly once they caught their momentum.
Gen.G, however, had more time to sail as they began playoffs in the upper bracket round 1. They first took down TALON and then handed BOOM Esports their first series loss of the season with a sweep.
Among all the South Korean teams, Nongshim RedForce and Masters Bangkok champs T1 were the first to fall as they could not make it past the first lower bracket round. DRX got a little farther, but bowed out in the lower bracket semis after suffering a loss against Paper Rex.
As an aside, BOOM Esports were unable to find a win in the playoffs, sending them to an early exit after their losses to Gen.G and PRX.
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Rex Regum Qeon flips the script on Gen.G
The upper bracket final saw Gen.G and RRQ face off for the first time. The Korean team made short work of the kings, sending them to the lower bracket final after 13-5 and 13-8 maps. Kim "t3xture" Na-ra in particular ran the lobby, accumulating a KDA of 43/22/8 across two maps on his duelists.
What followed was a five-game banger between RRQ and Paper Rex. The series opener was a dominating 13-2 win for the Singaporean team, but RRQ eked out two back-to-back 14-12 wins. PRX answers back with another manhandling, a 13-3 game to send the match to map 5.
RRQ did a good job of finding flanks and sending effective lurkers, which caught Paper Rex off guard in the fifth map. They also did well in punishing mistakes and cheeky calls from PRX. All this granted RRQ the series win and sent them to the grand final for a rematch against Gen.G.
For Paper Rex, their journey in Pacific ended here, but we can look forward to their performance in Masters Toronto.
t3xture once again had to face RRQ's powerhouse duelist Maksim "Jemkin" Batorov. Gen.G came out swinging in Haven, and for a second, it looked like this rematch would go the same way as the team's previous faceoff. It was close, though, but RRQ could not go past eight rounds as Gen.G closed it out.
However, RRQ showed they had some aces up their sleeve when the next map, Ascent, rolled in. They took the first nine rounds on Ascent and ended the half up 10-2. Gen.G was never one to simply take punishment, though, and they replied with their own eight-round win streak in the following half. Ultimately, the map went to RRQ, but it was a close 13-11.
The teams moved onto the third map, Lotus. The first half was closer than the past two — Gen.G took the lead at 7-5. But, RRQ showed their defender prowess in the second half and barely gave their opponents room to breathe. RRQ not only nullified Gen.G's lead but also swiftly placed themselves on match point.
On Icebox, the first half was an even 6-6. The two teams continued trading blows into the next half. Gen.G opened with a win on the pistol and the round after, but RRQ slowly pulled ahead.
Heroics from Jemkin and Monyet gave the Indonesian team their first VCT Pacific win and finally made them deserving of the title King of Kings.
VCT Pacific 2025 Stage 1 champions Rex Regum Qeon, runners-up Gen.G Esports, and third-placer Paper Rex will represent the region in the upcoming Masters Toronto.
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