Valorant Champions 2024 has been delivering some of the most exciting matches in the season. As the Group Stage nears its end, four out of the 16 teams have already booked their spots in the Playoffs. On the other hand, only four teams have been eliminated from the competition so far.
Day 7 closed with a matchup between Pacific's number three-seed Paper Rex and EMEA's number-four seed FUT Esports. The Best-of-three (Bo3) was quite competitive in the first map, but things changed later on as Paper Rex took full control of the second map and closed the series out with a 2-0 scoreline.
During the post-match conference, Sportskeeda Esports' Siddarth got the opportunity to talk to Paper Rex's coach alecks, during which he said:
"A change was needed for them"
Paper Rex's coach, alecks talks about the EDward Gaming roster changes and their performance at Valorant Champions 2024
Paper Rex had a tough time in the 2024 season. While the team's regional performances have been outstanding, they have struggled to win matches at international events. Things looked worse when the team were obliterated in their first match against G2 Esports at Valorant Champions 2024.
However, their second match against FUT Esports saw them get comfortable again and effortlessly close out the series. This progressed them in the bracket as they now face off against a familiar opponent, EDward Gaming. However, their squad has made some slight changes by adding S1Mon to the roster.
In the press conference, Sportskeeda Esports approached Paper Rex's coach alecks to ask him if he thought the current EDward Gaming roster had more potential than the older one and if there were any differences he noticed in their playstyle compared to the previous iteration.
"To be fair, it's been a tough year for us so we haven't really focused on anyone else other than ourselves. But it seems like S1Mon plays a little bit more confidently I think. Sometimes you know when you have a roster shakeup it gives everyone a boost so.. I feel that regardless of whether he is a better player or not than Haodong, a change was needed for them and as everyone can see it's been a really good change for them. I think he is a good player, he put up good scores against G2 so he is confident and I think we would have to be on guard."
Paper Rex's next match against EDward Gaming is an extremely crucial one as both teams will battle for the final Playoff spot of their group. This will be the sixth time they will face off against each other.
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