After their international LAN debut, the Paper Rex squad shared their insights from the Berlin Masters in their newly uploaded vlog.
The vlog initially started with the players’ reaction upon meeting their teammates for the first time.
“I mean it’s good that, finally, we get to reunite again, you know. Of course, we have been hearing the same [voices] every day but like being able to meet… like the friends that you know from online… [in order] to get to know them in real life.” Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee stated.
“Surprisingly [f0rsakeN] was not the kid I know online. He used to like talk [redacted] a lot and in real life, he’s just like, I would say, kind of like [a] quiet kid I guess,” D4v41 he added as he described Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto.
“[D4v41] is a very fun person but he knows how to be serious during practice and [knows] the correct time to [be funny],” F0rsakeN described D4v41.
Meanwhile, Zhang Teng “shiba” Toh wasn’t surprised at all. “To me, it’s mostly the same. Everyone is what I expected them to be from our own interactions online,” Shiba stated.
“For [Shiba], he’s kind of the same because.. he’s always been the quiet kid,” D4v41 expressed as he talked about Shiba.
The team also talked about their experience in LAN in the vlog.
“If you play LAN, you can see your team’s faces. I would say, everything is more easier you know? Like, even when you want to [brief] some maps and that kind of stuff, it’s more easier [compared to] online. [Because in online settings], you’ll never [know] if this guy is doing something [else] and there is a lot of distraction. In LAN, I feel like we are more focused,” Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart explained.
However, Benedict “Benkai” Tan slightly disagreed. “[LAN] isn’t that different from when we are [in an online setting]. It’s just that we are in person now. It’s still pretty cool to actually see [my team] in person. It’s better to actually have like [a] face to face interaction.”
For F0rsakeN, the LAN experience has been very helpful as he learned a lot from Benkai and their coach, Alexandre “alecks” Salle. “
[Benkai’s] really good as an in-game leader so I learned a lot from him. Alecks also [helped] me with [identifying] all of the mistakes that I did in the game so I can improve more in VALORANT.”
They also reflected on their matchup between Vision Strikers and SuperMassive Blaze.
“I think, against Vision Strikers, we were overthinking a lot. I would say they do a lot of default [plays] at first and they change it up here and there. When it comes to SuperMassive Blaze, they tend to [do a fast-paced] playstyle. It was kinda like obvious but at the same time it’s very hard because they are very sharp,” D4v41 stated.
“When we started scrimming against the European teams first, I thought we’d pretty much get smashed but I think we actually did surprisingly well, if not better than I expected. I still think the European teams are ahead and that there are still things that we can learn from them. Scrimming [with them] showed me that we are not that far away from reaching the top,” Benkai stated in the vlog.
“I feel like I [gained more confidence] after [playing] in Berlin. We definitely improved since the last time we played,” Mindfreak revealed.
Losing a spot to Team Secret via a tie-breaker decision, Paper Rex is looking forward to qualifying to VALORANT Champions via the APAC LCQ.
“I think the biggest obstacle would be, perhaps, the Korean teams. We [also don’t know] what the Chinese and Indian teams might [also] bring. We’re not expecting to win [the APAC LCQ] but we will do our best knowing that we do have what it takes to come out of LCQ,” Shiba stated.
The team also thanked their fans and family for being supportive throughout their run in the Berlin Masters.
Paper Rex’s last chance to qualify for VALORANT Champions comes in the form of winning the APAC LCQ. The tournament will see the top 10 teams from Asia’s five major regions (Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, and South Asia) competing online for the single remain spot for Champions. It will run from October 11-17, 2021.
