Global Esports bow onstage at the VALORANT Masters: London. Riot Games/Handout
Global Esports (GE) have been eliminated from the VALORANT Masters: London following a heartbreaking 1-2 defeat to Xi Lai Gaming (XLG). The series went the distance, but XLG edged out GE in the deciding map to end their Swiss Stage campaign.
Despite the loss, Filipino players Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza and Xavier "xavi8k" Juan delivered strong performances, particularly on Haven. PatMen led the server with 22 kills, 13 deaths, and 12 assists, helping GE secure a 13-10 victory in the opening map. GE's attack proved difficult to stop, with XLG managing to halt their pushes only a handful of times throughout the map.
Lotus saw GE continue their momentum early, taking a 7-5 lead at halftime. However, XLG responded strongly on their attacking side, consistently breaking through GE's defenses and winning key post-plant situations. GE struggled to convert their retakes, allowing XLG to take control and claim the map 13-9 to level the series.
The decider on Breeze started in XLG's favor as GE found little success on attack, trailing 4-8 at the half. A pistol-round victory gave GE the spark they needed, and they fought back to tie up the game at 9-9. The two teams continued to trade rounds, reaching a tense 10-10 deadlock with playoff hopes hanging in the balance.
In the closing rounds, XLG finally found the breakthrough they needed. They narrowly survived a potential 1v3 clutch from GE’s Kr1stal before securing the remaining rounds and closing out Breeze to win the series 2-1.
With the result, Global Esports finished their Swiss Stage run with a 1-2 record, becoming the second Pacific representative to be eliminated from the tournament.
Paper Rex will be competing against LEVIATÁN at the Upper Semifinals on June 12.