The upper final's pairing in VCT Pacific Kickoff was decided following two quick matches. Nongshim RedForce Nongshim RedForce Korea Rank #1 Xross Jeonghwan (정환) Rb Goo Sang-min (구상민) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) defeated FULL SENSE FULL SENSE Asia-Pacific Rank #7 Leviathan Thanyathon Nakmee Killua Tanate Teerasawad thyy Anupong Preamsak primmie Papaphat Sriprapha JitBoyS Jittana Nokngam , shutting down the firepower of the usually explosive primmie , while Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #4 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kushy Bryan Carlos Setiawan crazyguy Ngô Công Anh dominated Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov , allowing just 11 rounds through two maps.

Nongshim RedForce impresses, shuts down FULL SENSE in 2-0 sweep

Both FULL SENSE and Nongshim RedForce entered this match with the wind under their feet. Both teams were coming off of three-map wins over two Korean powerhouses in DRX DRX Korea Rank #4 Hermes Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) and T1 T1 Korea Rank #2 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) , respectively.

The series opened on FULL SENSE's pick of Split, a map it has now played in all three of its Pacific Kickoff matches so far. Meanwhile, Nongshim, also playing the map for the third time, having picked it in both previous matches, went with a similar comp, with the only difference being Dambi on his iconic Neon instead of Raze.

Nongshim opened the map on attack and came out with loads of momentum. The squad won four of the first five rounds while claiming the first of three pistol rounds it ended up winning. FULL SENSE managed to remain steady, managing to even the odds by halftime on a map that had razor-thin margins.

Despite giving up a thrifty after winning the opening pistol of the second half, FULL SENSE remained strong on its own attack half, stringing together a few rounds to reach map point up 12-9. From that point, Nongshim used a variety of barrier-drop sequences and found the balance between being proactive and reactive. Former IGL-turned-Yoru player Francis was at the center of those rounds, willing Nongshim to overtime, where more well-coordinated play helped Nongshim steal FS's map pick.

Nongshim steals FULL SENSE's map pick in flawless fashion.

Despite finding the first blood in 16 of the map's 26 rounds, FULL SENSE was unable to convert in many of those man-advantage situations. Dambi's 1.29 rating and 23 kills were server-high marks on the map, while in-game leader JitBoyS ' 22 kills and five first bloods were not enough for the Thai squad.

Attention then turned to Bind, which has arguably been one of the team's most iconic maps since its days as Sin Prisa Gaming Sin Prisa Gaming Inactive Persia Yang Zi-on (양지온) margaret Kim Ji-woo (김지우) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) . Once again, both teams had near-mirror comps, retaining the same agents from their Split game but switching out Omen for Brimstone.

Once again, Nongshim had a fast start to the map thanks to a pistol round win, snowballing its way to a 5-0 start to the map on defense. With momentum warming up into a boil, Nongshim only suffered two hiccups, dropping two rounds to FULL SENSE, but finding great success in large part thanks to Francis's Operator. He snagged eight of his 15 defense-side kills with the long-range sniper.

Even a three-player high-low setup couldn't stop Francis's Op.

Once on attack, it was business as usual for Nongshim, as a third pistol round win of the series willed Nongshim to a dominant 13-2 win on the map to secure an upper final spot.

After dropping a record-setting 79 kills in FS's win over DRX, primmie was held at bay by Nongshim, managing just 26 kills in the series. On the opposite side of the stage, Nongshim was led by Dambi's 38 kills, while Viper player Ivy had an impactful 37 as well.

Rex Regum Qeon dominates Paper Rex, giving up just 11 rounds

In a rematch of last year's Pacific Stage 2 grand final, Rex Regum Qeon found its revenge on Paper Rex, dominating the Pacific titans in a big way.

The series opened on PRX's pick of Bind, a usually formidable map in the team's map pool. Against Global Esports Global Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #12 PatMen Patrick Mendoza UdoTan Go Kyung-won (고경원) Kr1stal Savva Fedorov xavi8k Xavier Juan Autumn Kale Dunne , PRX claimed a 13-10 win on the map. PRX came out with a rather meta comp, with Yoru, Raze, Brimstone, Viper, and Fade. Meanwhile, RRQ went for an off-meta comp, putting lethal Operator user Jemkin on Chamber while Skye served as the team's solo Initiator.

Immediately, a fast start saw RRQ seize a 5-0 lead. While the attacking PRX won five of the next six rounds to close the gap, it still trailed 7-5 at halftime. When attacking, RRQ played almost as if it were defending, finding the perfect counters to PRX's set plays, managing the space around the map's two teleports well, and shutting down any fast crunch attempts through them.

No ace, but no problem as Kushy 's four kills get RRQ to map point.

RRQ claimed another pistol round to open the second half, which spelled the beginning of the end for PRX. The Masters Toronto champions managed just one round win on defense, unable to get a grasp on a slippery RRQ attack that brought the squad a 13-6 win.

With the loss, PRX found its back against the wall heading into Pearl, a map that it has struggled on over the past year, while RRQ has looked solid on it. RRQ opted for a double-Initiator comp that gave it plenty of post-plant utility while again allowing for Jemkin to flow freely on the Operator. Meanwhile, PRX remained with its double-Duelist look, which pivoted with Jinggg on Waylay as opposed to his usual comfort pick of Raze. PRX started on defense, but found itself on the back foot immediately.

There aren't very many words that can be used to describe RRQ's dominance on attack. After claiming a third pistol round in the series, RRQ stormed forward to win the first ten rounds of the map. Paper Rex looked disjointed, being caught mismanaging its economy at times in an attempt to tip the scales in its favor. A slow, well-coordinated attack saw the RRQ players move in tandem with each other, with Jemkin finding several kills with the Outlaw against lighter PRX buys.

PRX won its first pistol round of the series in an attempt to mount a comeback, but a loss in the would-be bonus round spelled the beginning of the end. RRQ cruised, looking to be comfortable through the entire map and playing around PRX perfectly en route to a 13-5 win.

Kushy gets his ace stolen again, but it's a cost worth paying once again.

Jemkin had a series-high 38 kills with a 1.55 rating. Usually the team's Duelist player, he went 13-3 in first duels while Monyet put up a sizeable effort in the role with 34 of his own kills.

With a regional title already under its belt, a question can be raised as to whether or not this result is an upset. Regardless, RRQ now has the chance to qualify for its third-straight international event.

Up next

RRQ and Nongshim move on to the upper final, where they will both be one win away from reaching Masters Santiago. Paper Rex and FULL SENSE both lose one life and will slide to the middle bracket, awaiting their next opponents.

VCT Pacific Kickoff will continue with the following matches: