Paper Rex has disbanded its CS:GO roster and is transitioning to Valorant to compete in the upcoming First Strike qualifiers. The team had a Valorant roster in place last year, but the players were temporarily suspended after being caught in breaches of competitive fairness and integrity. Players from Paper Rex's CS:GO team have replaced the previous Valorant roster and coach Alex "alecks" Salle.
Paper Rex’s Valorant team is set to compete against the best in Asia. Due to the previous Valorant team's suspension, the organization could not compete at First Strike MY/SG. The new team will be looking to put Paper Rex back on the map in Valorant’s competitive scene in 2021. Except for Jorell "Retla" Teo, all five players have competed in the organization’s CS:GO roster. Retla was part of LaZe before signing with the Valorant team.
Paper Rex did not offer a reason behind the move to Valorant and indicated that they do not intend to return to CS:GO in the near future. In a statement published earlier this week, the team said,
“Today marks the end of our journey in CS:GO. As die-hard fans of the game, all our founders will be the first to say that we are extremely emotional about this decision. February 10th, 2021 will mark exactly 1 year since we signed our first players. While this is the end of the road in CS:GO, this isn't goodbye from us. A new chapter awaits.”
Paper Rex's Valorant roster is expected to debut at the upcoming Valorant Champions Tour Challengers #2. The world's best teams are participating in the event, including Bren Esports, Cloud9 Korea, and other premier teams from Asia, vying for the same qualification spots as Paper Rex. The team will be looking to seal a spot at the global finals featuring 16 of the best teams from across the world.
RELATED: Paper Rex Suspends Entire Valorant Roster Over ‘Breach of Integrity’