After two weeks of non-stop Valorant action, the VCT Stage 2 Masters event has finally come to an end. It was a nail-biting ride until the very end, with plenty of upsets along the way.

FunPlus Phoenix, the EMEA challengers, picked up the trophy after defeating Paper Rex with 3-2 in the VCT Masters Copenhagen grand final. Both teams delivered one of the best Valorant esports matches we’ve seen to date and ended this spectacular event on a high note.

The Grand Final

After witnessing an absolute banger of a grand final, the fans of both teams were left completely speechless. FunPlus Phoenix and Paper Rex climbed the two Playoff brackets, brough down some incredibly tough opponents, and were now fighting each other to decide the winner of the esports tournament. Everyone knew this would be an incredible match!

All five maps were played, and after a lot of back-and-forth, FunPlus Phoenix emerged victorious. The two Russians, Shao and SUYGETSU, played a key role and pretty much carried FunPlus Phoenix in this final match. SUYGETSU got a total of three MVP awards in the Playoffs alone, which is an incredible feat.

While FunPlus Phoenix showed an astounding form and rightfully won the tournament, it’s also important to mention just how good the APAC challengers were in Copenhagen. Paper Rex not only crushed their home region, but they swept through the Copenhagen upper bracket and demolished all three favourites in this event – Guild Esports, Fnatic and OpTic Gaming.

Although they didn’t win in the end, they still put up one hell of a fight and didn’t go home empty-handed. The second spot with a $120,000 prize and 750 DPC points went to Paper Rex, as well as some much-deserved bragging rights. Paper Rex put the APAC region on the global map and placed the more popular regions such as NA and EMEA into serious danger.

OpTic and Fnatic Secure 3rd and 4th Spots

Both OpTic and Fnatic were heavily favoured in this event, which was further evident in all the Valorant betting odds across all betting sites. As far as everyone was concerned, one of these two teams was about to win this Valorant Champions Tour event.

Fnatic had an easier start, joining the event as one of the top seeded teams and skipping the group stage entirely. While this saved them some extra trouble, it also prevented them from properly warming up for the Playoffs. They did beat Guild Esports in their opening match, but then Paper Rex really threw them off balance in the upper bracket semi-final, and it all went downhill after that.

Fnatic barely made it past the LATAM challengers, Leviatán, and squeezed a 2-1 win through overtime. They were looking shaky, and when the time came to face FunPlus Phoenix, Fnatic were completely out of gas and lost 2-1 in the rematch.

OpTic had a significantly better time in the VCT Masters Copenhagen. Despite the rough start in group A, OpTic quickly pulled themselves together and closed the group stage, finishing 2nd behind Guild Esports. Playoffs went much better, with the Americans toppling down both XSET and DRX on their way to the final.

Much like Fnatic, they struggled against Paper Rex and ended up losing 2-1. Their morale dipped low and FunPlus Phoenix were quick to capitalize on this, beating OpTic with 3-1 in the lower bracket and preventing them from reaching the grand final.

A Perfect End

Although nobody really expected FunPlus Phoenix and Paper Rex to meet in the grand final, we’re now all glad that they did. They delivered one of the best fights in Valorant Champions Tour‘s history and completely outshined the competition.

It’ll be exciting to see what else they’ll achieve in the Valorant Champions 2022, as both squads have already qualified for the final VCT event of the season. Will we see another FPX v Paper Rex grand final, or will things change in September? Only time will tell.