The VALORANT main event of the year, the VALORANT Champions 2023, is about to begin. In Group A, the opening match is between the representatives of Singapore, Paper Rex, and a team from Latin America, KRU Esports. The format of the match is bo3. Which of the participants will start the tournament with a victory? Let's find out.
In this betting thread you will find out how the participants of this match are performing in the current year, how they did in their previous professional tournament, and how this match will end.
Paper Rex uniforms
Singaporean collective Paper Rex has not been highly active on the scene since the start of the current year, but boasts some decent results. First, f0rsakeN and his teammates took part in VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, where they took 17th-32nd place and earned a $5,000 consolation prize. After a lacklustre Long Cognega, the team competed in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Pacific League, a $250,000 championship for teams from the Pacific region. Paper Rex put on a great performance and emerged as champions, making a comeback in the grand finals of the VCT 2023: Pacific League against DRX. The Singaporeans were 0-2 down at first before winning three maps in a row. The victory earned Paper Rex slots in VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo and VALORANT Champions 2023, as well as $100,000 in prize money.
The last professional tournament for Paper Rex was the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Masters Tokyo. With a win in the Pacific League, the Singaporean club secured a direct invitation to the play-offs. Thus, the team got past the group stage and went straight to the quarter-finals of the top flight. Their first opponent was the familiar DRX, whom Paper Rex defeated 2-0 (Split - 13-10, Bind - 13-10). In the semifinals Paper Rex Ledge and Fnatic on two maps in a row and travelled to the losers' net. The quarter-finals of the lower grid was marked for the Singaporeans by an intense clash with the Chinese from EDward Gaming. A 2-1 victory (Fracture - 14-12, Split - 9-13, Lotus - 13-8) allowed the team to reach the semi-finals of the lezur grid. The American NRG team was also able to win one map against Paper Rex, but in the end, f0rsakeN and team came away with a 2-1 victory (Pearl - 15-13, Lotus - 13-6, Bind - 13-11). In the final of the lower grid Paper Rex Ledge or Evil Geniuses in a full bo5 series. Third place at VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Masters Tokyo provided the team with $125,000 in prize money.
Paper Rex latest results stats:
- 2:3 loss to Evil Geniuses
- 2-1 win over NRG
- 2:1 win over EDward Gaming
- 0:2 loss to Fnatic
- 2:0 win over DRX
KRU Esports uniforms
For KRU Esports, the gaming year Long Sogpegov started with participation in VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, where the team performed quite poorly. The 17th-32nd place is hard to call a decent result, and the players earned a consolation prize of $5,000. Next, KRU Esports took part in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Americas League, a regional tournament for teams from the Americas region. Melser and team had the worst performance of all the participants. The group stage ended for the team with a 0-9 result. Thus, the Latin American team took the last tenth place.
After missing their opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo tournament, KRU Esports went on to compete in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Americas Last Chance Qualifier, the last opportunity for teams from the Americas region to qualify for the VALORANT World Championships. KRU Esports made it all the way through the top grid to the grand finals of qualifying, defeating teams such as MIBR, FURIA Esports, Leviatan, and Cloud9. In the deciding match of the qualifiers, the Latin American club once again played against Leviatan. With a 3-1 victory (Split - 13-5, Pearl - 8-13, Ascent - 13-6, Lotus - 13-10) they became the champions of the event. First place in qualification secured KRU Esports a slot in VALORANT Champions 2023.
KRU Esports latest results statistics:
- 3-1 win over Leviatan
- Defeat Cloud9 2:1
- Defeat Leviatan 2:0
- 2:1 win over FURIA Esports
- 2:0 win over MIBR
Paper Rex vs KRU Esports Match History
Due to the difference in regions and level of play, the participants of this match have not played against each other before.
Predicted result of the match Paper Rex - KRU Esports
Paper Rex boast good achievements this year and are confident against top opposition, while KRU Esports have played poorly in their region and only rehabilitated themselves in qualifying. Let's bet on the Paper Rex team to win.
