PATMEN MAKES EXPLOSIVE GLOBAL DEBUT IN MASTERS TORONTO

MANILA, Philippines — Paper Rex made the most of the opening match of Valorant Masters Toronto, dominating Europe's Team Heretics, 2-0, at the Enercare Centre, in Toronto Canada early Sunday, July 8 (Manila time).

Filipino Valorant player Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza also made his global debut as the first Filipino to ever play in a Masters tournament (with previous qualifier BREN Esports, now Team Secret, failing to fly out in then Masters Berlin in 2021 due to issues with travel documents).

"It's my first international [event] and I'm so happy that I made it because it's hard to [get] a visa,' shared Mendoza during the tournament's pre-event conference July 7 (Manila time).

In Paper Rex' map pick of Pearl, Team Heretics only managed one round and the Paper Rex train was in full speed, with Mendoza taking both pistol rounds, to give his team a 1-0 series advantage.

On Icebox, Team Heretics answered back by maximizing its attacking side with a four consecutive round win to end the half with a slim lead of 5-7. But the Paper Rex train finally departed the station, taking six consecutive rounds to take the lead at 11-7. Though Team Heretics managed to take two rounds on the defense, Mendoza was able to close out the last two rounds,  catching Ri?ardas "Boo" Lukaševi?ius to give Paper Rex the win.

"It's his first time in an international and we won our first match so I'm really proud of him even though he was a little bit nervous, a little bit of jetlag," said the team's IGL (in-game leader) Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto.

Speaking about his debut during the post-match interview, Mendoza shrugged off pressure, saying he is focused on the trust his team placed on him as motivation.

"Of course I feel heavy pressure but right now, what I'm focusing on is my teammates, my coach -- they all trust me, they all believe in me, and I think that's the most important thing," he added.

Paper Rex will have its next match on Monday, (early Tuesday morning, Manila time), awaiting the result of the other Swiss Stage matches between Sentinel against Wolves Esports and Gen.G Esports against MIBR happening early Monday morning.

2025-06-08T03:44:35Z