Cloud9 vs Paper Rex (PRX) - VCT LOCK//IN 2023: Predictions, where to watch, and more

LOCK//IN kicked off the VCT 2023 season on February 13 in Sao Paulo. The tournament has 30 teams from the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, along with two invited rosters from China. They will play against each other in a high-stakes single-elimination format for a chance to win glory for their team and an additional seat for their region in Masters 2023 in Tokyo, Japan.

The third and final match of LOCK//IN Day 2 will see NA's Cloud9 face off against APAC's Paper Rex. On paper at least, this is by far the closest match-up in Group Alpha. Both teams consist of some of the best players from their respective regions and are considered to be among their region's best bets to win it all in this tournament.

Considering the tournament's grueling format, one of the two squads will be knocked out after this match. So, fans can expect nothing short of the best performances out of both the teams.

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Cloud9 vs PRX at VCT LOCK//IN - Who will win the 4th game of Group Alpha?

Predictions

Cloud9 retained their IGL vanity, leaf, and Xeppa from their 2021-22 VCT run, and acquired Zellsis and yay in October 2022. The latter was one of the biggest transfers in the off-season that followed VCT Champions 2022. The team has been playing together for about four months now, and had quite an impressive showing in the last tournament they played in.

Paper Rex has retained the entirety of their starting-five since the last season. All the players have gained a lot of LAN experience from the various international VCT events they played in the last year. This gives them a huge edge over the more newly formed teams in the tournament, including Cloud9.

PRX's underdog days are over. Although they couldn't make it out of the Group Stage in Champions 2022, their excellent Masters Copenhagen run showed the world what they can do. Their coach also noted that unpredictibility will be a key factor in this tournament, and what team if not PRX is better-known for pocket strategies that throw the opponent's game plans for a toss.

Cloud9 is definitely one of the best teams coming into this tournament and the fight betweent the two will be one you will not want to mis. However, Paper Rex will come out on top in all probability, being the more experienced team and having a playstyle that suits VCT LOCK//IN's format better than anyone else.

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Head-to-head

The two teams haven't played against each other, whether in the VCT or otherwise, till date.

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Recent results

Cloud9 played with this team in the Red Bull Home Grounds #3 held in Manchester in December 2022. They made it to the Grandfinals after beating the likes of KRÜ Esports and Team Vitality, where they lost 0-3 to 100 Thieves.

Paper Rex played their last competitive match in November 2022 at the India Invitational, where they beat Team Heretics 3-1 in the Grandfinal. They also beat teams like Global Esports, BOOM Esports, and Team Secret in the tournament.

In December they played two show matches against Zeta Division and DetonatioN FocusMe, losing the former and winning the latter.

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Potential line-ups

Cloud9

• Anthony “vanity” Malaspina (IGL)
• Nathan “leaf” Orf
• Erick “Xeppaa” Bach
• Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker
• Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro
• Matthew “mCe” Elmore (Coach)

Paper Rex

• Benedict "Benkai" Tan (IGL)
• Aaron "mindfreak" Leonhart
• Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie
• Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto
• Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee
• Alexandre "alecks" Sallé (Coach)

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When and where to watch

You can watch the match live on Valorant's official Twitch or YouTube channel. Many content creators and players from across the world will be hosting watch-parties that you can tune in to. Cloud9 will take on Paper Rex on February 14, 2023, at 3 pm PST/12 am CET (next day)/4.30 am IST (next day).