Pacific Powerhouses Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce Secure Early Victories in VALORANT Masters Santiago Playoffs

Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce advance in the VALORANT Masters Santiago Playoffs as FURIA and Gentle Mates drop to the lower bracket after intense matches.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 9, 2026, 9:15 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Esports Insider

Pacific Giants Navigate a Resilient Brazilian Challenge

The opening match of the Santiago Playoffs featured a clash between the Masters Toronto champions, Paper Rex, and a determined but relatively inexperienced FURIA roster. While Paper Rex eventually secured a 2-1 victory, the series highlighted significant periods of vulnerability for the Pacific third seed. According to match observers, Paper Rex relied on their signature hyper-aggressive agent compositions, featuring Phoenix and Yoru, to disrupt FURIA's defensive setups. However, the Brazilian side demonstrated remarkable composure, briefly threatening an upset by exploiting inefficient ultimate usage and aggressive overextensions from the Pacific veterans.

A Tactical Seesaw on Haven and Breeze

Haven served as a wake up call for the reigning Toronto champions, as FURIA managed to neutralize Paper Rex's early aggression to lock the score at 6-6 by halftime. Despite Paper Rex’s mechanical prowess, FURIA’s Daniel ‘eeiu’ Vucenovic delivered several critical plays that allowed the Americas first seed to claim the map 13-9. The momentum shifted drastically on Breeze, where Paper Rex rediscovered their fragging confidence. Ilia ‘something’ Petrov proved instrumental in the recovery, executing multiple round-winning clutches that restricted FURIA to only four rounds in a dominant 13-4 response.

IGL Leadership Seals the Deciding Map

The series concluded on Split, where both organizations traded rounds in a closely contested first half. Paper Rex’s penchant for high risk plays was frequently punished by FURIA’s disciplined decision-making, keeping the scoreline tight at 7-5. However, the second half saw a shift in tactical execution as Khalish ‘d4v41’ Rusyaidee took command of the server. The Paper Rex in-game leader spearheaded a relentless attack half, combining impactful fragging with decisive calling to secure a 13-7 victory and avoid a lower bracket demotion.