FunPlus Phoenix has been crowned the champions of Valorant Champions Tour 2022: Stage 2 Masters Copenhagen, having defeated the APAC (Asia Pacific) first seed Paper Rex in the most intense series of the circuit with a stellar team-wide performance. The EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) representative took the crown back from the North American region, winning the organisation's first international trophy.
Paper Rex, on the other hand, was one step away from getting their names in history books, having been the first APAC team to qualify for the grand finals in an international tournament. They eliminated the defending champion, OpTic Gaming, in the upper bracket finals, but their fairy tale ended at the hands of FunPlus Phoenix.
The grand final series could not have been better, as both teams were able to continue competing despite both of them taking losses during the game. At the end of the day, it was FPX who were able to come out victorious. On FPX's map pick of Bind, they won eleven rounds in a row. Paper Rex could not resist the endless pressure as FPX wasted no time closing the map to take the series to the second match.
Paper Rex remained competitive
In game two, FPX were dominated on their opponent's map pick. Paper Rex bounced back after their discouraging loss, showing the team's mental strength. After securing four defence rounds in the second half, Paper Rex brought the series to a third map, Fracture.
Paper Rex started better on Fracture by winning the pistol round. However, FPX took the lead starting from the fifth round with strong performances from Dmitry ''SUYVETSU'' Ilyushin. Unfortunately for Paper Rex, the second half of Fracture was the same as the first half of the opening map. FPX won eight of ten rounds to end this gruelling war, capturing the lead once again in the series.
Haven would have been the end for Paper Rex without the talent of their players Jing Jie "Jinggg" Wang and Jason ''f0rsaken'' Susanto. They shined on both attack and defence, leading their teams to victory in a dominant fashion in the second half. The series was back where it started, but both teams were out of chances to lose.
The deciding game five
Breeze was back and forth as both teams found numerous advantages by winning consecutive rounds. FPX secured the first three rounds, but Paper Rex was quick enough to answer with five-round wins in a row. From there on, the next eight rounds were split in half between the two teams. FunPlus Phoenix ultimately ended the five-game intense series by winning six attack rounds in a row.
With their epic final victory over Paper Rex, FunPlus Phoenix earned $200,000 for their organisation along with netting 1,000 circuit points for Valorant Champions qualification. Paper Rex, on the other hand, will have a chance to get their revenge on FPX in Valorant Champions Istanbul, which is scheduled to begin on September 9.