G2 Esports Upsets Paper Rex At VCT Masters Shanghai

The North American squad is on a miraculous run, taking down the tournament favorite in the first round of the Masters Shanghai tournament. 

The third match of the Upper Bracket’s first round featured Paper Rex taking on G2 Esports. Paper Rex is coming into the tournament as the highest-ranked team after bringing Jinggg back into the team. Meanwhile, it was already lucky for G2 Esports to play in the event in the first place. Everybody thought this match would be a fast 2-0 for Paper Rex, but G2 begged to differ.

Map 1 – Split

G2 picked Split as the first map, which didn’t turn out to be a good decision. Playing his first round in an international LAN after months of rest, Jinggg immediately posted three explosive kills in the pistol round to put Paper Rex on the board. The Southeast Asian squad converted the anti-eco to be up 2-0.

On their bonus round, G2 Esports pulled out rifles and got to a 2v1 situation. However, something clutched the round, getting four kills in total. After such a heartbreaking throw from G2, Paper Rex had built enough momentum to steamroll the rest of the half. 

APAC’s #1 seed continued dominating their opponent’s map pick, winning 11 rounds in a row to build an insurmountable lead in the first half. Fortunately, G2 won the final round, leaving the score at 11-1. 

G2 found some breathing room after JonahP clutched a 1v1 in the second pistol round. However, the Americans could not convert their bonus round, gifting Paper Rex 12 rounds. Despite winning the next four rounds, G2 ran out of chances and lost the map 13-7. 

The Duelist duo of Paper Rex, something and Jinggg, went 19/13/6 and 21/13/5, respectively. It was a great performance from the Singaporean on his first match back.

Map 2 – Lotus 

Lotus was next, Paper Rex’s map pick. The G2 squad won the pistol round and converted the next two to lead 3-0. However, the following round was a total disaster, when icy’s Raze accidentally killed his teammate with his ultimate. D4v41 took the opportunity to get three sick Sheriff kills to put Paper Rex in contention. 

After the chaotic round, Paper Rex strung five straight to take the lead, 6-3. Still, G2 found their footing, winning the three final rounds to tie the half. However, this scoreline did not favor G2, as Lotus is a heavily offense-sided map. 

The American in-game leader led by example, getting four kills in the second pistol round to put his team back in the lead. Eventually, G2 found themselves up 10-6 after winning their bonus round. 

Unfortunately, Paper Rex couldn’t make their offense work and was constantly getting shut down. At 12-7, something pulled off an incredible 1v4 clutch, keeping Paper Rex alive and winning the next two rounds. Still, G2 closed the map 13-10 at the end, keeping the series level.

Map 3 – Bind

The decisive map was played on Bind, a map G2 was very comfortable on, and it really showed. G2 won the first pistol round and converted the anti-eco, but not the bonus. With the map score at 2-1, G2 brought out their weapons and started dominating Paper Rex.

G2 won round after round, getting eight in a row to lead 10-1. Fortunately, Paper Rex found scraps and won the final round of the half, ending it 10-2. This series of events was essentially what happened on Split, except the receiving sides were swapped. 

The only way Paper Rex could pull off a comeback was by winning the second pistol round, which did not go in their favor. Eventually, the map ended 13-5 in G2’s favor, completing a massive upset. The newest recruit, icy, went 20/11/10 on Raze with seven opening kills and 325 ACS.

THAT BOY ICYYYYY TOO NICE. 2-1 vs @pprxteam our mental resilience is incredible and we continue our streak of coming back after getting beat down. #G2WIN #G2ARMY

— G2 JonahP (@JonahP_) May 31, 2024

It is worth noting that Paper Rex chose G2 as their first opponent, maybe thinking they were the weakest team in the tournament. Paper Rex has been sent to the Lower Bracket, while G2 advanced in the Upper Bracket. 

Header: G2 Esports