Paper Rex suffered a 0-2 loss to
LOUD to kick off their
VALORANT Champions 2026 playoffs run on a bad note. The APAC juggernauts had a strong start on Split and Sunset, with an 8-4 and 9-3 first-half leads, respectively. However, the team collapsed in the second half of both maps, with Split ending up being a 9-13 loss and Sunset being an overtime 13-15 loss.
After the disappointing end to the series, Sheep Esports had the opportunity to chat with Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee and get some insight on what went wrong for Paper Rex.
Commiserations on the loss, d4v41. You guys had the lead in the first half of both maps, but it just fell apart in the second half. What went wrong?
Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee: Personally, I think I did a very bad game. I didn’t shoot that much, so that’s on me. As a team, I think we kind of rushed some things regarding decision-making today and overheated a little bit. We also lost a few post-plants on Sunset. Other than that, LOUD played very well as a team. Some of their players had good individual decision-making, which gave them a lot of space to win rounds. Props to them.
LOUD took a lot of unpredictable timings and showed an aggressive playstyle but maintained their discipline and composure when it mattered. How did it feel to play against such a team?
d4v41: I think this combination is a very tough thing to do; I think they did a very good job in terms of being aggressive as individuals and also managing to play composed as a team, in the post-plants especially. Players like luk xo (Lucca Travaioli) caught so many timings and were very sharp. I don’t have much to say; they did very good as a team. We did our homework regarding them, but we just couldn’t execute it today.
Split is a map that Paper Rex either picks or lets float in the map veto. However, the map hasn’t been very kind to you guys recently. What’s been going wrong for the team on this map?
d4v41: I am not sure, because in most of our practice matches, we always win on Split. Our decision-making is always good, but when the enemy surprises us, we always crumble when it matters. We always like Split, but we couldn’t show it again today to you guys. It’s really frustrating.
We saw Ilya “something” Petrov playing Chamber on Sunset, a pick we don’t see quite often from him. Was this a change specifically to counter LOUD, or can we expect more Chamber matches from something?
d4v41: I think it’s not because of LOUD, but more due to the meta. Chamber is very OP on Sunset, as you can see. A lot of teams play Chamber, so we are trying to venture into that; I could go on other Sentinels and let Ilya (something) play Chamber. It’s just the meta that we are approaching, and it wasn’t anything specific to counter LOUD.
Your next opponent is T1, a team you are very familiar with. What are your thoughts on their performance at this event, and how confident is the team heading into this matchup?
d4v41: I think it doesn’t matter who we play. Everyone is very good, and we just need to go back to the drawing board to fix more things we are struggling with; we need to try to have better teamwork as well in the upcoming matches.
Americas has been the best region at Champions, by far. Is there a specific reason why they are performing so well, or have the other teams just not caught up to the meta yet?
d4v41: I am not too sure regarding that, but NA has been on top for a very long time; I’m not too sure about the differences between them and other regions that make them so good, especially in international events. I’m not too sure, to be honest. I think some of the teams just have more talent and chemistry, I guess. I don’t know, honestly.
You’ve been a veteran of the VCT circuit. What has given you the passion to play for so long and given so much love and care for the team, region, and fans?
d4v41: I think, first of all, you have to enjoy competing, which I’ve been enjoying. I’m always going to love playing in a competition. When the stakes are high, and you earn the win, it’s one of the best feelings. Another reason would be that I like being in this team. I think that has kind of changed a lot of my decisions, because sometimes, when you lose, you kind of consider the thought of “Do you want to continue anymore?” I would say these are the two main reasons.
Do you have any thoughts that you would like to share with the Paper Rex fans?
d4v41: I know you guys are disappointed with today’s match. We are sorry for that, especially me. Thank you for always supporting and believing in us. Hopefully, we can show you guys a better performance in the upcoming match. We appreciate you guys; thank you.
