Vortex Gaming

Data provided by - Riot Games

DRX, participating in the VALORANT Masters Tokyo as a VCT Pacific representative, survived the final round of Group Stage B and secured a bracket stage ticket.

Riot Games (Korea CEO Cho Hyuk-jin), the developer and distributor of the 5v5 character-based tactical shooter game 'VALORANT', announced that DRX advanced to the bracket stage after finishing second in Group B at the VALORANT Masters Tokyo international tournament held in Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo, Japan from the 11th (Sun) to the 14th (Wed).

◆DRX Keeps Korean Pride

DRX participated in the Masters as the second seed after finishing as runner-up in the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific, which ended last May.

DRX, placed in Group B, faced Attacking Soul Esports (ASE), the winning team of the Chinese regional tournament, as their first opponent, playing their first Korea-China match of 2023. On the 11th (Sun), DRX, with 'Foxy9' Jung Jae-sung listed in the starting lineup instead of 'Zest' Kim Ki-seok, started cleanly by winning 13-10 in the first set 'Fracture' and 13-7 in the second set 'Pearl'.

After losing 0-2 to Evil Geniuses, the third seed of VCT Americas, in the upper bracket, DRX faced Foot Esports, the third seed of VCT EMEA, on the 14th (Wed) for the last remaining bracket stage ticket. DRX, with Kim Ki-seok in the starting lineup instead of Jung Jae-sung, was on the verge of elimination after losing the first set 'Bind' 9-13. At the critical moment, 'Mako' Kim Myung-gwan and 'Buzz' Yu Byung-chul saved the team, winning the second set 'Fracture' and the third set 'Haven' 13-8 and 13-4 respectively, advancing to the bracket stage as the second place team in the group.

T1, who participated in the Masters as a Korean representative along with DRX, won 2-1 against Edward Gaming (EDG), the second seed from China, in their first match. However, they lost the 2nd and 3rd sets after winning the 1st set against NRG Esports, the 2nd seed of VCT Americas, in the upper bracket, and lost 0-2 to EDG again in the 3rd round of the lower bracket on the 14th, failing to advance to the bracket stage and finishing their Masters schedule.

◆Bracket Stage Matchups Confirmed! DRX-PRX Pacific Finals 'Rematch' Achieved

With the group stage completed, all 8 teams participating in the bracket stage have been confirmed. Paper Rex (Pacific), Team Liquid (EMEA), and Loud (Americas), who took the 1st seed in the VCT international league, will participate in the bracket stage, and Fnatic, the 2nd seed of EMEA, will also play from the bracket stage.

DRX, who advanced through the group stage, will face Paper Rex (PRX), whom they faced in the VCT Pacific finals, in their first bracket stage match. The two teams have faced each other a total of 3 times in 2023, with Paper Rex holding a 2-1 advantage in the head-to-head record. The bracket stage match between DRX and Paper Rex is scheduled to take place on the 17th (Sat).

NRG Esports (Americas), who took first place in Group Stage A, will face Fnatic, the second seed of EMEA, while Edward Gaming, who was second in Group A, will face Team Liquid, the winning team of EMEA. Evil Geniuses (Americas), the first place team in Group Stage B, will face Loud, the winning team of the same league, recreating the VCT Americas finals matchup.

The bracket stage will be played in a double-elimination format with a best-of-three series where a team is eliminated after two losses, and only the finals advancement match and the finals will be played in a best-of-five series. The first match of the bracket stage is the match between Loud and Evil Geniuses and will start at 12:00 PM Korean time on the 16th (Fri).

Webzine InvenPark Beom Reporter
2023-06-15