Ilya ‘something’ Petrov has emerged as one of the finest Valorant talents in the world. But is he going to play for Paper Rex at VCT Masters Tokyo?
The Russian duelist has established himself as a key member of Paper Rex since his arrival in March, averaging a tournament-high 1.22 VLR rating as the team won the VCT Pacific League. He was named the MVP of the grand final, which he finished with a 1.28 VLR rating and a +31 K/D.
This is only something’s first year competing at the highest level. Like many other Russian players living in the country’s Far East, he tried his luck in Japan’s VCT circuit, with his performances for Sengoku Gaming earning him a spot in Paper Rex, the runners-up of last year’s VCT Stage 2 Masters event in Copenhagen.
Valorant fans have been eagerly awaiting something’s first international appearance, which was supposed to be at VCT Masters Tokyo. However, question marks remain over the Russian’s availability for the event.
Is something playing at VCT Masters Tokyo?
On June 4, Paper Rex announced that there was a likelihood that something would miss “the early part” of the VCT Masters Tokyo due to visa issues.
The Singaporean organization added that it was hard at work trying to “expedite his travel documents” and that it remained hopeful the player would link up with the rest of the squad for the latter stages of the event, “should the team make it deep into the playoffs.”
On June 13, something teased that his visa situation had been resolved by posting a photo of the offices of Crazy Raccoon, a Japanese organization. Shortly afterward, Nikhil ‘nikH’ Hathiramani, Paper Rex’s co-founder and CEO, clarified that the player was not in Tokyo, adding that the visa process “is moving forward”.
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“It’s just very complicated and takes many steps because of his unique situation,” nikH said.
On June 17, it was confirmed that something would miss Paper Rex’s opening match, against DRX. Backup player Patiphan ‘CigaretteS’ Posri, who had only played one official map this year, filled in for the Russian duelist.
Even without their star player, Paper Rex came out on top of that series, beating their VCT Pacific rival by a 2-0 scoreline.
something played no part as Paper Rex lost to Fnatic in the upper bracket semi-finals. The team bounced back with a victory against EDG to guarantee a top-four finish in Tokyo.
As the team prepares to face NRG, something announced that he is officially ruled out of the tournament. “Unfortunately, I can say that I am 100% unable to go to Masters Tokyo,” he wrote on Twitter, adding that he is now focused on helping the team prepare for Valorant Champions 2023.