Nongshim RedForce’s 14-match official winning streak came to an end during the opening week of the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific Stage 1, after the team was reverse-swept by Paper Rex.

The result marked a measure of revenge for Paper Rex, which had lost 3-0 to Nongshim RedForce in the grand final of Masters Santiago last month. Elsewhere in Week one, Kiwoom DRX opened its campaign with a convincing win over Team Secret, T1 swept Team VARREL and Global Esports upset Gen.G.

Week one of VCT Pacific Stage 1 took place from April 3rd to 5th at SOOP Sangam Colosseum in Seoul, South Korea.

Paper Rex halt Nongshim RedForce’s unbeaten run

The clash between Nongshim RedForce and Paper Rex was one of the standout matches of the opening week and ended in a 2-1 win for the Singaporean organisation.Nongshim RedForce looked on course to continue its strong run after taking the opening map 15-13 in overtime. However, Paper Rex recovered well across the rest of the series to seal the reverse sweep.On the second map, the two sides were level at 6-6 at halftime before Jason ‘f0rsakeN’ Susanto helped Paper Rex pull away in the second half. The team closed the map 13-10 to force a decider.

Paper Rex then dominated the third map 13-6 to complete the comeback. Wang ‘Jinggg’ Jing Jie proved decisive throughout the series, recording 76 kills across the three maps. On the other side, Lee ‘Dambi’ Hyuk-kyu was unable to replicate the same level of impact he had shown in Nongshim RedForce’s Masters Santiago win over Paper Rex.

The defeat ended a 14-match official winning streak for Nongshim RedForce, a run that stretched from VCT Ascension Pacific through VCT Pacific Kickoff and Masters Santiago.

Kiwoom DRX begin new era with Team Secret sweep

Kiwoom DRX also made an early statement in Stage one, defeating Team Secret 2-0 following recent roster changes.

The Korean side took control early in the series and secured the first map 13-5. Team Secret pushed much harder in map two, taking the match to overtime, but DRX recovered after dropping the first extra round and won the next three in succession to close out the series.

Song ‘HYUNMIN’ Hyun-min was one of the team’s standout performers, finishing the match with 41 kills. Kim ‘yong’ Ho-yong, who had recently been promoted to the main roster, also made an impression after a quieter opening map, ending map two with 19 kills and 13 assists.

The result offered an encouraging start for DRX as it looked to settle a reworked line-up at the start of Stage one.

Global Esports upset Gen.G as T1 start strongly

One of the biggest surprises of the opening round came when Global Esports swept Gen.G 2-0.

Global Esports won the first map 13-8 with contributions across the line-up, including Patrick ‘PatMen’ Mendoza, before carrying that momentum into the second map to complete the upset.

T1, meanwhile, opened its Stage one campaign with a 2-0 win over Team VARREL. The Korean organisation faced pressure early in the first map but recovered in the second half to take control of the series.

It then produced a far cleaner display in map two to wrap up the win. Yu ‘BuZz’ Byeong-cheol led T1’s effort with 41 kills across the series.

Riot Games also announced that the VCT Pacific Stage 1 Finals will take place at the Thiskyhall Sala Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from May 15th to 17th. Ticket sales are set to begin on April 10th through Ticketbox, with no on-site sales available.

VCT Pacific Stage 1 is being broadcast on platforms including YouTube, CHZZK and SOOP.