PRX Benkai: “As the match went on, it became pretty obvious that [Pearl] is still in a very unrefined stage.”
Paper Rex started their Valorant Champions 2022 run on the right foot as they defeated EDward Gaming 2-0 in the tournament’s opening match. Despite struggling in Icebox where they fell by a 13-5 margin, the APAC first seed and Masters: Copenhagen runner-up rebounded by winning the deciding map in Haven and subsequently advanced to the Group A Winner’s match. It is there where they will vie to book themselves a place in the playoffs phase amidst competitive Valorant’s biggest stage of the year.
Following the series against EDG, PRX’s Benedict “Benkai” Tan spoke to the media in a scrum interview to discuss playing against the East Asian representative, playing in Pearl, struggling in Icebox, and much more.
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What is fundamentally wrong with Pearl?
Most players think that Pearl needs a rework and has a lot of potential to be a top-tier map in VALORANT. However, what is fundamentally wrong with Pearl?
Players have complained that the B site on Pearl seems extremely tough to push because of the long angle leading into the site and the site having multiple choke points. Similarly to A site where a push can be easier for attackers but holding the site seems near impossible as there are 4 different ways defenders can rush into the site.
In yesterday’s match with PRX and EDG, the comment section during the match was constantly criticising the fact that one of the map picks was Pearl. Surely, any new map takes time to adjust competitively but this was unusual. Benkai’s opinion in the media about Pearl just reaffirms what the fans have been saying and VALORANT definitely needs to revisit Pearl.
