Nongshim RedForce are the VALORANT Masters Santiago champions

Nongshim RedForce are the first VALORANT team to debut from Ascension and win a Masters tournament in their first year.

It’s an all-Pacific showdown at the grand finals of the VALORANT Masters Santiago, after an intense two-week competition among twelve teams from all across the world.

In the end, it was Nongshim RedForce that came out on top, after defeating Paper Rex in an overwhelming 3-0 sweep a at the Grand Finals on Sunday (15 March).

This makes Nongshim RedForce the first VALORANT team to debut from Ascension and win a Masters tournament in their first year.

Nongshim RedForce came out on top with a confident series against Paper Rex, starting with a tight opener on Corrode. Paper Rex held the early edge with an 8–4 lead at half-time, but Nongshim RedForce flipped the script after the break, storming through the second half 9–3 to secure a narrow 13–11 win. From there, the series quickly tilted in Nongshim’s favour. They dominated Split with a commanding 9–3 first half before comfortably closing the map 13–4, then carried that momentum into Abyss. Nongshim RedForce once again controlled the pace with a 10–2 half-time lead and wrapped up the map 13–3, sealing a decisive 3–0 series victory.

Nongshim RedForce only dropped one game during the entire tournament

Nongshim RedForce, VCT Pacific’s first seed, had a dominant run throughout the tournament, beginning with the Upper Bracket Round 1 of the Playoffs where they swept Gentle Mates 2-0, then outplayed G2 2-1 in Round 2 of the Upper Bracket. At the Upper Bracket Final, NS RedForce made a statement play with yet another 2-0 sweep against NRG to make it to the Grand Final.

Meanwhile, Paper Rex came into the competition as VCT Pacific’s second seed, having to participate in the Swiss Stage alongside eight other teams. Paper Rex swept G2 Esports 2-0 in the first round and overpowered NRG 2-1 in the second Round, allowing them to qualify into the Playoffs early.

During the playoffs, Paper Rex dismantled Furia 2-1 at the first round of the Upper Bracket. However, NRG exacted revenge against PRX in the Upper Bracket Round 2 with a 2-0 sweep, making the Singaporean team drop to the Lower Bracket. In Round 2 of the Lower Bracket, Paper Rex fought tooth and nail for survival, eliminating VCT China’s first seed All Gamers 2-1, then once again taking down G2 Esports 2-1 at the Lower Bracket Semifinal. And in what seemed like a twist of fate, PRX once again faced NRG at the Lower Bracket Final where they avenged their Upper Bracket loss 3-1 to make it to the Grand Finals.

With their win Nongshim RedForce have become the VCT Masters Santiago Champions, receiving US$350,000, and earning a whopping 6 VCT Points. LeeDambi Hyu-kyu was notably given the MVP award for this competition.