The most highly anticipated match of the VCT Pacific League kicked off with a bang in Seoul on Saturday night, April 22, with the two only undefeated teams in the region going head-to-head.
DRX, the team formerly known as Vision Strikers, has set the standard for Asian VALORANT for the last two years. Their core roster has been together long enough to develop together while bringing in new talent, and they look better than ever in 2023 at the top of the franchised Pacific League.
Though Gen.G accomplished a significant feat in finally taking a map off of DRX in the competition, they still fell 2-1 after a rocky performance.
There has been a ton of history between the players on the VCT stage tonight, as they have all competed through the same Korean VALORANT circuit, and some have even been teammates in the past. The arena was packed with fans holding up signs and cheering for both sides of the stage lined with star players.
DRX quickly and predictably removed Lotus, their permaban, from the pool, the same way they did in every series they’ve played so far this year. Gen.G opted to go onto Haven as the first map, which had the potential of being a double-edged sword: while they have shown an incredible defense on the map so far, it is also one of DRX’s best maps.
Unfortunately for Gen.G, their defense this time around was a bit of a disaster. DRX bulldozed through their lines and played their post-plant strategies to perfection. In particular, Rb’s Sova utility kept Gen.G scared to even try and diffuse the Spike, going 10-0 through the first five rounds of Haven.
Zest, the player who has been on the bench for DRX as of late, is typically considered the better Sova player for the team—but Rb has really stepped up in recent weeks. His main strength has always been his composure in clutch scenarios, but he has shown recent mastery of Sova’s utility as well.
DRX took the opportunity presented by the completely dominant scoreline to try more site fakes and mindgames in their play, something not traditionally thought of as part of their strategy. Stax led his team towards unorthodox approaches to the map when it started to look impossible for Gen.G to make a comeback.
The only flaw for DRX on Haven was that their newest and youngest player, Foxy9, seemed to be playing with a bit of overconfidence. He was taking risky and unwarranted peeks that cost DRX an Operator investment more than once. Still, DRX took Haven 13-7.
Moving to Fracture, Foxy9 continued forward with this confidence, but this time on Raze. On a more chaotic agent, one that many argue must be played with an element of ego, Foxy9 pulled off the impossible.
Foxy9 wasn’t the only player stepping up on this map. Gen.G started to capture some of the cohesiveness brewing ever since their newest roster additions came in last month. However, this time it wasn’t even one of the new players, GodDead and Sylvan, but a familiar face leading the charge.
After playing Sylvan on map one, Gen.G subbed in eKo, a more experienced player, for Fracture. Though some analysts have expressed doubt about eKo’s impact in Gen.G’s roster, his Breach was calculated, and his aim was strong tonight, maintaining an astronomical 43% headshot hit percentage across the map.
Ultimately, Gen.G secured Fracture with a scoreline of 13-10, becoming the first team in the Pacific League to take a map off DRX. Still, DRX continued to show their roster’s flexibility on Pearl by putting Rb, who previously locked in Sova, onto Harbor, the main controller role. This left MaKo free to play his signature agent, Viper.
Yet, as one would expect in a stage lined with top-tier talent from end to end, yet another name stepped forward to be the star on Pearl. BuZz, playing his classic Killjoy, was 16-5 after just eight rounds on the map.
Gen.G used both of their timeouts in the first half of Pearl, leaving TS to propel any momentum the team could get forward for the rest of the map.
DRX showcased not only their expert coordination in retaking sites but also an overall understanding of the map that left no corner unchecked and no hallway left unguarded. After some unfortunate flanks that left Gen.G in what felt like a death trap, the team looked like they were struggling again.
BuZz ended Pearl with a whopping 377 average combat score, playing an agent not designed to carry a team through fragging. DRX took Pearl 13-4 in dominant fashion, proving that they are still the kings of Asian VALORANT.
Though DRX now stand alone at the top of the Pacific League, Gen.G has continued to prove that their roster is also capable of reaching incredible heights. No other team has been able to crack DRX so far, so despite taking their first loss, Gen.G should still feel proud of their performance.
The VCT Pacific League returns with a match between Korea’s T1 and Philippine’s RRQ on Sunday Apr. 23 at 4am CT.
