A landmark season for a rising VALORANT star fell just short of the perfect ending, with Ilya “something” Petrov and the rest of Paper Rex losing in the grand finals of VALORANT Champions 2023 to Evil Geniuses. But with some major meta changes on the way, the best duelist and reigning MVP of the VCT Pacific league is already looking at a new role to take on.
Something shared similar sentiments as other Jett-utilizing players regarding the upcoming agent balance changes in patch 7.04 in a chat with Dot Esports following Paper Rex’s loss to EG. With Jett set to receive some significant nerfs, something is already looking at alternatives, and isn’t limiting himself to just duelists.
Related: ‘RIP Jett’: VALORANT players mourn agent’s impending nerfs in Patch 7.04
“Of course Jett [will] die after this patch, so I must practice something new,” something said, listing the likes of Raze and Phoenix as alternates heading into the newest update and season. He also said he wouldn’t shy away from the initiator role, showing interest in KAY/O and Skye.
Something did not explicitly say he would start playing even more Reyna, which has been a unique staple for both himself and Paper Rex, but he did share why it’s such a strong agent for the team’s play style. “We can play much faster and react much faster,” something said, “because the flash doesn’t blind teammates. It fits our playstyle.”
While something is apparently more flexible to the changes, other star duelists are not. Fnatic’s primary Jett player Derke expressed his displeasure with the way Riot went about the upcoming nerfs both on social media and in Fnatic’s Aug. 25 post-match press conference, saying that the changes should be more subtle and spread out instead of drastic.
If something is to start playing more agents like Skye and KAY/O though, whose blind abilities do affect teammates, Paper Rex might have to adjust their reactive style somewhat. The team is guaranteed to be different next year already though, with star sharpshooter Jinggg set to step back from VALORANT due to mandated military service.
Related: Paper Rex star might be retiring from pro VALORANT after Champions 2023
Even though something was understandably sad about the loss to EG, the young player has already collected a VCT Pacific championship trophy and an MVP trophy in less than a full season. If he starts mastering more agents, Paper Rex could very easily still be in line for international gold in 2024.
