After winning Ascension twice back-to-back, Nongshim RedForce Nongshim RedForce Korea Unranked Xross Jeonghwan (정환) Rb Goo Sang-min (구상민) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) is now the first seed for VCT Pacific at Masters Santiago after defeating 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 3-2 in the Pacific Kickoff upper final. With this first loss, RRQ still has two opportunities to qualify to Santiago.

This five-map series was a rollercoaster, highlighted by two close maps and three relatively dominant ones. Starting on Corrode, the closest map of the series, the double-Duelist from Nongshim faced off against a Chamber comp from RRQ. Nongshim won the first pistol, but lost the antieco to kill off some early momentum. The map remained close, with Nongshim clearing the enemy team or losing to defuse.

Xross earns an ace in a 1v2 clutch round.

A tied 6-6 half was a premonition of the 12-12 tie, as an RRQ pistol win and bonus conversion ended up as a 12-10 deficit. In that overtime, RRQ regained the lead and closed it out, winning map one 14-12.

Bind was a confident bounce back from Nongshim, with Dambi on Neon styling out through the attack side. Nongshim won the first pistol and, despite failing to convert the bonus, ran away with the first half. That 9-3 lead was challenged with another RRQ second-half pistol and bonus win, but Xross shifted that momentum to win the map 13-8.

Haven was next, and Dambi only got stronger on map three after his great map two. It was a Neon duel between Jemkin and Dambi, and Dambi was showing off. There was another 9-3 lead for Nongshim at the half, but unlike the previous two maps, kept that momentum for the second half. RRQ won the pistol but lost the antieco, priming Dambi to lead his team to a 13-5 map win and a series lead.

Abyss was nearly in the bag for Nongshim, both as a map and as a series clincher. Both teams ran double-Duelist with Waylay and Yoru, which moved Dambi off Neon. At first, it seemed like a minor issue as Nongshim won pistol and bonus to go up 6-1. Yet, that lead disappeared as RRQ fought back to reach the half at 6-6. Then, when Nongshim moved to the attack side, there were obvious signs of struggle. After winning the second pistol, Nongshim was constantly countered with smart positioning and strong retakes, allowing RRQ to win the map 13-11.

That meant it all came down to Breeze, with Dambi returning on the attack side Neon. The difference in confidence between maps four and five for Nongshim was palpable, as RRQ won the pistol but then lost 11 rounds in a row.

Nongshim defeats RRQ at Kickoff.

That 11-1 lead at the half effectively ended the series. RRQ did threaten a comeback after converting an eco, but Xross stepped up to end the map 13-7 to win the series 3-2.

With this win, Nongshim qualify to Masters Santiago as the first seed from VCT Pacific. RRQ moves to the middle bracket final and will face off against T1 T1 Korea Unranked 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) for its second attempt to qualify.