"Paper Rex were very aggressive, and we couldn’t handle it." JonahP in a Post-Match Interview

First day of Lower Bracket round witnessed Paper Rex making their 2-0 win over North America’s top seed look easy as it was an unfortunate result for The Guard, who lost both their matches at Iceland and now are eliminated from the tournament.

THESPIKE.GG: Quite an unfortunate loss for the team, how do you guys feel?

We feel bad at the moment, but it happens. We will work on learning from our mistakes and come back stronger in the next international event that we hopefully qualify for.

THESPIKE.GG: From being #1 seed in VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 1 - Main Event to being first round exits in VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík. What factor do you think contributed most to your poor showing at the event?

I think the nerves and inexperience were detrimental to our performance. Paper Rex played great today. They were very aggressive on both maps, and we couldn’t handle it. They were flanking us and were almost always in our face. So, they deserved the win, and we can’t take credit from them. We are the youngest team at the event with the lowest average age. Considering the fact that everyone on the team except Ha "Sayaplayer" Jung-woo is playing their first international event, we played good against some of the veteran teams, and it has been a good experience for us.

THESPIKE.GG: On Haven, you went against a comp consisting of Reyna and Cypher, one of the least picked agents at the event and an unorthodox pick. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Since we were ready for the comp and the aggression, it didn’t catch us off guard, but it was a lot for us to handle. They were behind us instantly and played so good as a team that we couldn’t stop it.

THESPIKE.GG: In the matchup against OpTic, your performance wasn’t as noteworthy as we are used to seeing but today you seemed more in control. What do you have to say on that?

Today, I played better individually but we still have to win as a team so having me or Trent "trent" Cairns or anyone else pop off doesn’t really matter if the rest of the team can’t capitalize on it.

THESPIKE.GG: The remaining six teams in the tournament all belong from different regions. How does it feel to have such a diverse scene that is not dominated only be EU or NA? How does it speak for the potential of the Valorant scene?

Every team is proving that they deserve to be here and representing the strength of their respective regional scenes. The competition at display is amazing and the future for Valorant esports looks great!

THESPIKE.GG: Do you think if the team would have had to go through the event’s group stages, you would be ready and warmed-up for the Playoffs or it wouldn’t have mattered.

To be honest, I don’t think it would’ve mattered because we would still have to make the Playoffs against through the group stages facing off against some of the best teams. It would still be the same thing because being in the Playoffs did not really add extra pressure on us. We were confident going against these teams, but the inexperience let us down.

THESPIKE.GG: How has the experience been at Iceland?

It has been great. The sights are fascinating here. It was amazing to play at an international event against these teams. Even with our, it was fun, and we look forward to coming back and placing better at the next LAN.

THESPIKE.GG: On that note, do you think it would be better if they had crowds there?

It would’ve been cooler if we had crowds and as a viewer, I would want that. Although it would add more pressure for the teams, the hype would be amazing. Having the crowd scream after getting kills or winning rounds is the dream and hopefully, we get that in the future.

THESPIKE.GG: With your departure from Iceland, what team do you plan to support in the event now?

I definitely have to go with Optic. It’s the obvious choice. They are our fans from NA and unfortunately the only the team left from the region.

*Interview was edited for clarity. *