VCT Pacific league giants DRX finally faced their first loss of the regular season on May 13. Not only did they bleed, but they were swept in a 2-0 loss to Team Secret, an upset to say the least in the region’s superweek.
Heading into this matchup, DRX were 7-0 and Team Secret had a losing record at 3-4. Team Secret needed to win this match to make their hopes of going to Masters Tokyo a reality, and they did just that, surprising many particularly with their performance on Haven.
While it might be simple to just say that DRX were underperforming, that wasn’t the case in this series. Team Secret really stepped up to DRX’s level, proving it in their 13-8 win on Haven to go 1-0 up in the seires. The Team Secret of international events in 2022 returned, with standout performances from both in-game leader Jessie “JessieVash” Cristy Cuyco for the good calls to counter-act DRX’s set plays on both attack and defence, Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza for some crucial kills, and Jeremy “Jremy” Cabrera for stepping up against tough opposition, playing very different roles in Duelist and Sentinel on two different maps and tying for most kills on their team over the series.
When Ascent came around as the second map, DRX started strong on their attack, building up a 9-3 lead at halftime. Yet the 9-3 curse came to fruition, even on a map that DRX have built their name on over the years. Team Secret only ended up losing two rounds on their attack, with Jremy and JessieVash continuing their strong form from Haven. The preparation for this series was clear for both teams, as neither team lost a post-plant scenario while attacking on the decisive map. DRX were nine for nine in their round wins, but Team Secret were 10 for 10.
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In a post-match interview, JessieVash was quick to show admiration for his team’s performance against the best regional opponent possible, especially for their map win on Haven.
“We watched a lot of DRX’s Haven, especially when they lost that map to RRQ,” JessieVash said, “so we just adapted to that, that was the secret.”
But, even with this big win and some tears getting shed on stage, JessieVash knew that they still have some big moments to go to make it to Masters Tokyo.“
“I think this win is going to build more confidence, especially with our players that have had bad performances lately in the event. We just got to be more consistent,” JessieVash said. “We already reviewed [Global Esports] and we are expecting to win the next games, so we can make playoffs.”
