Fnatic Become the First Finalists of Valorant EWC 2025 After Beating Paper Rex

Saturday, July 12, 2025, turned into a small celebration for Fnatic fans. At the Esports World Cup (EWC) Valorant tournament in Riyadh, the semifinals featured an exciting clash between Paper Rex and Fnatic. Both teams came in strong, having topped their groups without losing a single match. But in this matchup, Fnatic proved to be stronger and more confident, ending Paper Rex’s tournament win streak with a 2-1 victory in maps.

Map 1: Sunset — This was Paper Rex’s pick. Despite that advantage, they struggled throughout the map. Fnatic consistently won key rounds, breaking their opponent’s economy time and again. Still, Paper Rex managed to hold on and eventually closed out their map pick with a 13-10 score.

Map 2: Ascent — Fnatic’s pick. Here, Fnatic delivered an incredible performance and put on a masterclass. For Paper Rex, it was a disaster—they couldn’t find any answers. Fnatic confidently secured their map with a dominant 13-3 score.

Map 3: Split (Decider) — This map had plenty of action. Fnatic started on attack with aggressive, confident, and flawless rounds, building a commanding 9-3 lead at halftime. In the second half, Paper Rex tried to mount a comeback, but they had given up too much while defending. Even with 5 attacking rounds won, Paper Rex ultimately lost Split 8-13.

Player Highlights

• Alfajer (Fnatic) — He consistently racked up kills, finishing with 55 frags in the match and an ADR of 179. His steady performance on every map was one of the key factors in Fnatic’s victory.
• kaajak (Fnatic) — Especially stood out on the deciding map, where he put up 29 kills, helping Fnatic lock in such a dominant first half. His overall match stats were 56 kills with 160 ADR and a 43% headshot rate.

Fnatic’s win in this match secured them the honor of being the first finalists of EWC Valorant 2025, where they will await the winner of the Gen.G vs Team Heretics matchup. Paper Rex drop to the Consolation Final, where they’ll battle for third place.

A reminder: EWC Valorant 2025 runs for just a couple more days until July 13—don’t miss your chance to watch the teams making history. The tournament’s prize pool is $1,250,000 USD, with $500,000 going to the champion!