Fnatic moved forward at VALORANT Champions 2025 after defeating Paper Rex 2-1 in the upper bracket semifinal. Despite missing Emir 'Alfajer' Beder due to health issues, Fnatic relied on stand-in Domagoj 'Doma' Fancev and secured a spot in the next round. The win placed Paper Rex in the lower bracket, where survival is now their only path.

Paper Rex started strong on Bind, winning 13-10, with Khalish 'd4v41' Rusyaidee punishing Fnatic’s slow plays. However, Fnatic struck back on Haven, using calls from Jake 'Boaster' Howlett and a strong Yoru run from Kajetan 'kaajak' Haremski, which helped them claim a 13-4 win.

The last map, Lotus, saw Paper Rex dominate the first half with a 9-3 lead. Still, Fnatic staged a major comeback by winning 12 rounds in a row, closing the map 13-9 and the match 2-1. Fnatic and NRG will meet in the upper bracket final on October 3 in Paris. 

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Paper Rex made a huge statement at VALORANT Masters Toronto after crushing the iconic esports team Sentinels for the first time. The squad handed Sentinels a 2-0 defeat in the Upper Bracket Semifinals on Monday, June 16.

The Pacific team entered the match as underdogs. Sentinels had gone undefeated on the Swiss stage, showing clean form against Wolves Esports and Bilibili Gaming. They even went on a 2-0 victory against Xi Lai Gaming in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals. The Sentinels�?winning streak came to a halt when Paper Rex turned up the heat in the playoffs. 

Their match kicked off on the map Split, where Paper Rex took full control. They stormed through with a 13-3 win, led by standout play from Ilya ‘something�?Petrov's Yoru and Wang ‘Jinggg�?Jing Jie's Raze. The energy never dropped as they closed the series with a 13-11 finish on the Sunset map.

With this win, Paper Rex is now through to the Upper Finals, where they’ll face Wolves Esports on Friday, June 20. A win against the Wolves will take them straight to the Grand Final for their first major global title.

Meanwhile, Sentinels fall to the Lower Bracket Quarterfinals against Fnatic. They have to fight back up to reach the final again.

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