Paper Rex has announced that Benedict “Benkai” Tan will be stepping down from the active roster. As they prepare for the upcoming VALORANT Masters Tokyo and Champions Los Angeles, the 26-year-old will now take on a bench role. The decision to prioritize roster stability was made after careful consideration during the VCT Pacific league.
Coach Alexandre “alecks” Sallé emphasized the importance of consistency in achieving success, given the continuous improvement of other teams in the league. By reducing the roster to six players, Paper Rex aims to optimize training and practice sessions for better performance.
Paper Rex benched former IGL Benkai from the active roster
🇰🇷 SEOUL, South Korea — In its continued effort to stabilize its VALORANT roster, Paper Rex has made the difficult decision to move Benedict ‘Benkai’ Tan from the starting roster to bench status.
Benedict has been with the team throughout the VCT Pacific season and contributed… pic.twitter.com/1V8gHk8og6
— Paper Rex (@pprxteam) June 4, 2023
After nearly two years of being an integral part of Paper Rex’s active roster, the 26-year-old Benedict “Benkai” Tan has been shifted to the bench. Benkai’s contributions have played a significant role in establishing Paper Rex’s reputation on the international stage, including a runner-up finish in Masters Copenhagen last year. However, Paper Rex has often been overshadowed by DRX in the Pacific region until recently, with Paper Rex currently holding the trophy for the first VCT Pacific event.
This announcement doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as Benkai was absent from PRX’s recent endeavors in the Pacific League, having been replaced by the talented Russian player, Ilya “something” Petrov. The rookie substitute showcased remarkable results for the team after joining the mid-regular season. Benkai’s last appearance for PRX was in Week 4 of the Regular Season.
For the time being, “something” is also awaiting his VISA to Japan which is currently in limbo. However, management is trying every effort to get it done as fast as possible.
Active Valorant Roster
With this, the following is the active roster of Paper Rex
- Jason ‘f0rsakeN’ Susanto
- Jing Jie ‘Jinggg’ Wang
- Aaron ‘mindfreak’ Leonhart
- Khalish ‘d4v41’ Rusyaidee
- Ilia ‘something’ Petrov
- Patiphan ‘CGRS’ Porsi (substitute)
- Benedict ‘Benkai’ Tan (benched)
Read More: Riot Games revealed date for next Valorant Night Market in June
