Paper Rex and T1 Punch Through Lower Bracket, End KRX's Streak of Champions Appearances
Paper Rex outlasted an early scare from ONSIDE Gaming to sweep 2-0, while T1 dismantled Kiwoom DRX in similarly clean fashion — a result that ends KRX's run and puts them out of Champions for the first time in the org's history. Both winners now turn to Lower Round 2 with a spot at Busan on the line.
Paper Rex and T1 both closed out 2-0 series in VCT 2026 Pacific Stage 2's Lower Round 1 on Friday, eliminating ONSIDE Gaming and Kiwoom DRX respectively. The results matter beyond the bracket: KRX's exit confirms Champions Shanghai will be the first Champions without the organization since its inception.
PRX escapes an early scare against ONSIDE
ONSIDE, the only Challengers side to escape play-ins, opened with Abyss and built an early 5-1 lead on the typically tougher defense side. A late thrifty round pulled PRX back to 6-6 at the half. From there, f0rsakeN took over — a Sheriff 4-kill in a second thrifty round and repeated A-site floods off his Harbor kit dragged the map to 12-9 before PRX closed it 13-11.
ONSIDE's Sova-KAY/O double-Initiator start banked them a 5-1 lead, but PRX clawed back to 6-6 with a thrifty round late in the half. f0rsakeN's Sheriff 4K in the second half swung a second thrifty round PRX's way, and his Harbor utility opened repeated A-site floods that carried them to 13-11.
Ascent was more one-sided. PRX moved Jinggg back onto Sage alongside Chamber, and the attack side went 9-3 — d4v41 farmed early picks on Chamber while Jinggg's wall repeatedly opened B splits ONSIDE couldn't answer.
A Sage-Chamber look gave PRX an unusually strong double-Sentinel attack side, going 9-3. d4v41 picked up early kills on Chamber, and Jinggg's wall repeatedly opened B splits ONSIDE had no answer for. ONSIDE forced buys to stay alive but the map was already decided.
Player | Team | Rating | ACS | K/D/A | KAST | FK/FD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| something (MVP) | PRX | 9.6 | 226 | 34/24/7 | 69% | 8/3 |
| f0rsakeN | PRX | 9.5 | 243 | 38/25/23 | 81% | 4/4 |
| Xiesta | ONG | 9.5 | 269 | 38/32/10 | 69% | 8/6 |
| Ray | ONG | 9.4 | 231 | 33/30/14 | 64% | 2/3 |
| d4v41 | PRX | 8.4 | 217 | 35/28/10 | 67% | 7/5 |
Split was never played. ONSIDE exits with a top-eight Pacific finish for their first Challengers run into VCT.
T1 sweeps KRX; six-year Champions run ends
T1 took Lotus 13-10 on the back of both pistols, both bonus rounds, and four clutches — including a 1v3 from stax in the second pistol. KRX strung together buy-round wins to stay within range but never closed the pistol-round gap.
T1 swept both pistol rounds and both bonus rounds, the single biggest factor in the map. Four clutches went their way, including a 1v3 from stax in the second-half pistol. KRX won several buy-round strings to keep the map competitive but never erased the early economic deficit.
Abyss was a near-mirror Yoru/Waylay comp on both sides, but Munchkin's unusual Brimstone pick — over the standard alternative — became the deciding factor. T1 strung together eight consecutive attack rounds off deep lurks and unbreakable postplants, and a failed KRX fake let T1 take the second-half bonus round and push the score to 12-4 before closing it 13-7.
Both sides ran Yoru-Waylay, but Munchkin's Brimstone — an unusual pick for the composition — gave T1 a controller advantage KRX's mirrored comp couldn't match. Eight consecutive attack rounds off deep lurks and unbreakable postplants put the map out of reach; a failed fake from KRX handed T1 the second-half bonus and an 12-4 lead.
Tactical note: Munchkin's Brimstone
In a Yoru-Waylay mirror, the controller matchup usually gets overlooked. Munchkin's Brimstone over the expected pick gave T1's lurks and postplants coverage KRX's own comp couldn't replicate — the actual swing point of Abyss, not raw fragging.
Player | Team | Rating | ACS | K/D/A | KAST | FK/FD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BuZz (MVP) | T1 | 9.7 | 281 | 47/32/10 | 77% | 8/3 |
| Munchkin | T1 | 9.6 | 252 | 37/25/30 | 91% | 2/1 |
| yong (MVP, KRX) | KRX | 9.1 | 249 | 36/35/9 | 74% | 1/1 |
| stax | T1 | 9.3 | 208 | 34/25/18 | 79% | 6/2 |
| HYUNMIN | KRX | 4.8 | 153 | 22/36/8 | 65% | 2/11 |
Sunset was not needed. yong was KRX's best individual performer on the day, but it wasn't enough — the loss ends Kiwoom DRX's run and, with it, the organization's streak of Champions appearances dating back to its founding.
What's next
Pacific Stage 2 — Lower Bracket Road to Busan
Both winners move on with two tickets to finals weekend in Busan still up for grabs. PRX will face VARREL in a group-stage rematch, while T1 takes on fellow Korean side Gen.G with their Champions qualification hopes still alive.
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