T1, Paper Rex claim Masters Santiago slots as RRQ fail twice

All the spots for Masters Santiago in the VCT Pacific league are filled. Rex Regum Qeon was eliminated after losing to both T1 and Paper Rex during the Kickoff tournament.

All available spots for the Masters tournament in Santiago, part of the VCT Pacific league, have been filled. T1 from South Korea and Paper Rex from Southeast Asia qualified for the first major VALORANT tournament of the year after Rex Regum Qeon lost two matches.

T1 vs. RRQ

The final match of the VCT Pacific Kickoff 2026 between T1 and Rex Regum Qeon determined the second team from the region to compete in Santiago. Nongshim RedForce had already earned their spot. T1 dominated the series, winning decisively with a 3-0 score.

The teams first played on Pearl. Although RRQ chose the map, they couldn’t gain any significant edge. The first half strongly favored T1, ending with a score of 9-3. Sadly for the SEA team, their usual comeback didn’t happen, and T1 won the map 13-7.

Unlike the first map, T1 really excelled on Breeze, a map they chose themselves. They won convincingly with a final score of 13-2.

RRQ put up a strong fight against T1 in their match at Abyss. T1 dominated the first half with a 9-3 lead, but RRQ battled back and pushed the game into overtime. After a tense and extended overtime period, T1 ultimately won 19-17. This victory secures T1’s spot at Masters Santiago alongside other teams from South Korea in a few weeks.

PRX vs. RRQ

After a tough loss to T1, RRQ still had an opportunity to qualify for the tournament in Chile. However, they first needed to overcome the strong teams of Masters Toronto champions and Paper Rex, the leaders of the Pacific league.

The match started on the Haven map, chosen by PRX, but RRQ took an early lead, finishing the first half with an 8-4 advantage. However, PRX dominated the second half, preventing RRQ from winning any rounds and ultimately winning the map 13-8.

Paper Rex’s typical mistakes cost them on the Corrode map, allowing RRQ to find success against the Southeast Asian team. RRQ won 13-10, largely due to Maksim “Jemkin” Batorov’s strong performance with Chamber, where he achieved a score of 293.

Paper Rex secured their spot at Masters Santiago with two consecutive 13-10 victories. The series finished with an impressive performance from Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto, who ended the match with 35 kills and an ACS score of 389.

f0rsakeN also had an impressive 101 kill count across the four maps played.

With the conclusion of this match, the teams representing the Pacific region at Masters Santiago are now set: Nongshim RedForce, T1, and Paper Rex. This international VALORANT tournament kicks off on February 28th in Santiago, Chile, marking the first global event of 2026.

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2026-02-18 08:41