The first matches of the VCT Pacific Stage 1 playoffs have concluded, with South Korean lineups Gen.G Gen.G Korea Unranked Xiesta Jung Si-hwan (정시환) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Raxcal Kim Min-seok (김민석) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) and KIWOOM DRX KIWOOM DRX Korea Unranked Flicker Kim Tae-hee (김태희) claiming victory against TALON TALON Inactive Killua Tanate Teerasawad thyy Anupong Preamsak Crws Thanamethk Mahatthananuyut JitBoyS Jittana Nokngam primmie Papaphat Sriprapha and T1 T1 Korea Unranked stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) TenZ Tyson Ngo BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) crashies Austin Roberts , respectively. The two victors have the opportunity to qualify to Masters: Toronto if they win their next series, while the losing teams will need to go on a lower bracket run to keep their international event hopes alive.

Gen.G pounces on TALON in playoffs opening match

The first match of the bracket was a Kickoff rematch, an opportunity for TALON to take revenge after Gen.G denied them a podium finish. Historically, this matchup was a head-to-head in which Gen.G took the lead, winning three out of four VCT games prior to this series.

Both teams appeared fairly uncomfortable on their respective map picks, with the rosters losing their selection 13-6. Gen.G was unable to find any success on Haven, with TALON's double-Sentinel countering the Korean squad's straightforward attacking ideas. TALON then went on to take the second pistol to begin a five-round win streak, interrupted only once before TALON won the first map.

Icebox was a similar affair, this time Gen.G dominating their attack half with an aggressive composition. Once again, the team in the lead won the second pistol, and TALON's two offensive round wins were not enough to stop the inevitable.

The decider map was Pearl, a map in which neither team has much experience this year. Gen.G had a dominant start on the defense, posting up on aggressive angles to deny TALON any opportunities. TALON avoided a 13-0, but Gen.G took the third map soon afterwards, losing only three rounds in the process.

Gen.G will next play against BOOM Esports BOOM Esports Asia-Pacific Unranked kellyS Kelly Sedillo Xan Xan Ng Iceyyy Lionel Tay Zi natz Jonathan Adiputra NcSlasher Sheldon Andersen Chandra , with the winner qualifying to Masters: Toronto. TALON, meanwhile, will play against Nongshim RedForce Nongshim RedForce Korea Unranked WoohyuN Moon Woo-hyun (문우현) Xross Jeonghwan (정환) UdoTan Go Kyung-won (고경원) Rb Goo Sang-min (구상민) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) in an elimination series.

DRX unfazed by T1 after winning close 2-0

The second match of the day pit two veteran Korean orgs against each other, with Group Alpha's second-best team, DRX, facing off against Omega's third seed, T1. The historic head-to-head heavily favored DRX, but T1 had taken the most recent victory, a 2-0 elimination at Masters: Bangkok.

The rosters showed off a close map in Lotus, with the teams ending their Lotus attack halves at 7-5, needing two overtimes to eventually crown DRX the victor on map one. The offensive prowess returned on Fracture, as DRX ended their attack with a 7-5 despite losing the pistol round. T1 quickly equalized, but DRX was able to force overtime for the second time in the series. As with map one, the additional rounds were enough to earn DRX the win, sealing the close match with a 2-0 scoreline.

DRX remains in the upper bracket, facing off against Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Unranked Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kushy Bryan Carlos Setiawan crazyguy Ngô Công Anh , while T1 will next feature in a lower bracket match against Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Unranked invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes f0rsakeN Jason Susanto something Ilya Petrov .

VCT Pacific will continue with the upper bracket, determining two of the region's three Masters representatives:

• BOOM Esports vs. Gen.G
• Rex Regum Qeon vs. DRX