invy, Paper Rex fall short in Masters London
MANILA, Philippines — Paper Rex's bid for a second Valorant Masters title ended in heartbreak as the Pacific representative fell to Leviatan, 2-3, in the grand finals of the Valorant Masters London early Monday morning (Manila time) at the Copper Box Arena in London, England.
The defeat snapped the Pacific region's Masters winning streak and denied Filipino player Adrian "invy" Reyes and Paper Rex his first international trophy.
Paper Rex entered the grand finals with an undefeated run in the playoffs. It dispatched Leviatan, 2-0, in its first match in the tournament then survived Team Vitality and EDward Gaming, 2-1, to secure its spot in the grand finals.
Leviatan, meanwhile, mounted a lower-bracket resurgence after its loss to Paper Rex. The Latin American squad eliminated Team Heretics, 2-1, swept XLG Esports and Team Vitality, and then dominated EDward Gaming, 3-0, to earn a rematch against the Pacific champions.
In the grand finals, Paper Rex looked poised to repeat its earlier victory after a dominant start to the series as their map pick of Fracture saw the Pacific top seed dominate with a 13-2 win.
The momentum shifted in the second map of Split. After the teams were tied 6-6 at halftime, Leviatan delivered six straight defensive rounds to secure a 13-6 victory and level the series.
Paper Rex responded on Breeze despite trailing at halftime. The Pacific squad rallied in the second half to steal the map, 13-11, and move within one map of the Masters London trophy.
But Leviatan refused to fold on Ascent. Though Paper Rex carried a 7-5 lead into halftime and later extended its advantage to 10-8, Leviatan strung together five consecutive rounds to complete a 13-10 comeback and force a decisive fifth map.
The winner-take-all match on Lotus quickly turned into Leviatan’s showcase. The second seed from the Americas region produced a dominant attacking half, taking an 11-1 lead at the break. Paper Rex attempted a miracle recovery with four consecutive rounds after the side swap, but Leviatan eventually closed out the map, 13-5, to claim the Masters London championship.
For Paper Rex head coach Alexandre "alecks" Salle, the deciding moments came down to the team's inability to manage the emotions of a high-pressure final.
"The pressure of a fifth map gets really tough. I would say it felt like today, we were desperate to win. I think the emotional part of the finals is the thing that is difficult for us to overcome because we are an emotionally driven team. Sometimes it gets the better of us. We lost to our own emotions. Not taking away anything from Leviatan. I think we could have another level that we can get to and it would have been a nicer final or at least a nicer final map," Salle said during the post-match press conference.
Veteran player Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee echoed the sentiment, particularly regarding Paper Rex's collapse on Ascent after holding a late lead.
"Towards the second half [of Ascent], we were trying to finish the game quickly. They were rotating fast and we were still making obvious mistakes, maybe due to desperation and tunnel vision I guess," said Rusyaidee.
Though Paper Rex saw its second runner-up finish in the season, the squad has secured enough points to qualify for Valorant culminating event — the Valorant Champions 2026 happening in Shanghai this September. But before that, the team hopes to defend their regional Crown as the Valorant Champions Tour Pacific Stage 2 begins next month.
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