Global Esports advances to Busan after playoff wins over KRX, Varrel
MANILA, Philippines — For the second straight VCT Pacific stage, Global Esports has earned a place at a roadshow event.
Powered by Filipino standouts Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza and Xavier "xavi8k" Juan, Global Esports secured a spot at the VCT Pacific Stage 2 finals weekend in Busan after defeating KIWOOM DRX (KRX), 2-1, before sweeping Varrel, 2-0, in the upper bracket playoffs.
The victories guarantee the multinational squad at least a top-four finish and put it within touching distance of Valorant Champions Shanghai.
The road to Busan included one of the most significant wins in organization history.
Entering its opening playoff match, Global Esports had never beaten KRX in VCT competition. Across five previous meetings dating back to 2023, GE had failed to win a single map against the Korean side. That finally changed as Global battled back from an early deficit on Lotus before taking the series on Abyss to secure a breakthrough 2-1 victory.
At the center of the triumph was Juan who delivered a series-high 56 kills while continuing a breakout year that has transformed him from a longtime Tier 2 grinder into one of the Pacific region's most respected in-game leaders.
"Honestly, I always knew I could play in Tier 1. The four years I've been grinding in Tier 2, and I just never got the chance. I'm just glad that I'm able to do it now. No regrets that I wasn't able to do it before. At least now, this is my path," said Juan.
Global carried that momentum into its meeting with Japan's Varrel.
The squad stole Varrel’s map pick on Split, 13-10, before producing perhaps its most convincing performance of Stage 2 with a dominant 13-5 victory on Summit. PatMen finished with a team-high 38 kills across the series, including a map-best 19 frags on Summit as GE comfortably booked its ticket to Busan.
For Mendoza, the team's recent success has been rooted in trust.
"It was really nice that everyone is trusting me also about my playstyle. I was kind of playing loose for the team, and they're just trusting me and trusting my instinct also," said Mendoza after the win.
The Filipino added that his role extends beyond raw firepower.
"I'm helping everyone about micro stops and mid-rounding. So it was a really big impact for the team, and it was working really well. It's really helpful to have a team that trusts each other. It makes the game go smoothly,” Mendoza continued.
Yet for all of Global's current momentum, the organization knows the dangers of celebrating too early.
The team found itself in a similar position during Stage 1, qualifying for the roadshow portion of the tournament before seeing its campaign unravel after the venue shift to Ho Chi Minh City. This time, players and coaching staff insist the mindset is different.
"I think the difference would be our minds are more clear now. We know what we have to do. When we went to Vietnam, it's like we weren't as good or as on form. But I think now, even with the coaching and the players, our vision is more clear in what we want to do and need to do. We're going to keep going. Just because we're in the upper bracket doesn't mean we made it to Shanghai yet," Juan said during the post-match press conference.
Head coach Daniel "Platoon" Zhou echoed that sentiment, admitting the team approached Stage 1 with the wrong target in mind.
"Back then we kind of treated qualifying to London as the end goal. This time around, I really want to make sure that we think about Busan as the goal. Winning is the goal. Not many teams can say they've won a regional to begin with. Even if we make it to Shanghai, I want to really separate that and then think about Shanghai as a brand new run for us,” said Zhou.
Global Esports advances to the VCT Pacific Stage 2 upper final against Nongshim RedForce on September 4, with a grand final berth and valuable championship points on the line. A win could see Global Esports book its first ever VCT Pacific Grand Finals as well as qualify to its first Valorant Champions happening in Shanghai beginning September 24.
- Latest
- Trending
