FunPlus Phoenix completed its run through the lower bracket and defeated Paper Rex 3-2 in Sunday’s grand final to capture the Valorant Champions Tour Stage 2 Masters title in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin of Russia was named MVP of the grand final as FunPlus Phoenix squeaked by 13-9 on the winner-take-all fifth map and secured the $200,000 grand prize.
FunPlus Phoenix opened the series with a 13-3 rout on Bind before Paper Rex responded with a 13-7 win on Icebox. FunPlus Phoenix went back ahead by virtue of a 13-7 victory on Fracture, but it was tied again when Paper Rex won 13-7 on Haven.
Down 7-5 on Breeze, the decisive fifth map, Paper Rex scored four straight points to move ahead for a 9-7 lead. But FunPlus Phoenix handled business from there, notching the final six points of the match to prevail 13-9.
SUYGETSU had a kills-deaths-assists ratio of 78-65-26 while teammate and countryman Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky posted an 82-64-40. For Paper Rex, Singapore’s Jing Jie “Jinggg” Wang led the way with a match-high 95 kills.
Four teams qualified straight into the Playoffs, but FunPlus Phoenix was not one of them. They finished second in Group B during the Group Stage in order to advance.
They lost in the first round of the upper bracket 2-0 to Fnatic. But FunPlus Phoenix ran the tables from there. After victories over Guild Esports and DRX, they turned the tables on Fnatic in a rematch in the lower-bracket semifinals, winning 2-1.
They beat OpTic Gaming 3-1 in the lower-bracket final Saturday to set up Sunday’s showdown with Paper Rex.
VCT Stage 2 Masters prize pool, circuit points
1. FunPlus Phoenix — $200,000, 1,000 points
2. Paper Rex — $120,000, 750 points
3. OpTic Gaming — $85,000, 500 points
4. Fnatic — $65,000, 400 points
5-6. DRX, Leviatan — $40,000, 300 points
7-8. Guild Esports, XSET — $25,000, 250 points
9-10. KRU Esports, Northeption — $15,000, 200 points
11-12. LOUD, XERXIA — $10,000, 150 points
–Field Level Media