Esports
DRX have proven their tenacity at VALORANT Champions 2022 with an incredible comeback over Fnatic in the lower bracket quarter final.
DRX are playing some truly tense VALORANT right now. At VALORANT Champions 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey, the South Korean team have gone from a dominant Group Stage to a rollercoaster Playoffs, with a mixture of truly impressive performances and clutch plays that have kept them in contention for the top spot.
A storming victory in the Upper Bracket quarter final over FunPlus Phoenix led to a tough loss in the semis to Brazil’s LOUD, only for them to immediately come back swinging for the Lower Bracket quarter final.
With three matches between them and the trophy, including a rematch against FPX, they'll need to muster all their strength once more to prove that they can take on the rest of the world as well as stomp South Korea each season. Let's take a look at their last few games on the international stage.
Phoenix falling
DRX's first game of the Playoffs was against Europe's FunPlus Phoenix, who'd managed to enter the knockout stage after a Group Stage full of ups and downs. Their Decider Match had proved particularly decisive – their last game had gone to just 17 rounds, with FPX winning 13-4 against KRÜ Esports – and they were clearly prepared to carry that momentum into their next battles.
As such, despite DRX taking an early six round lead on the attacking side, FPX managed to flip the script and push the game into overtime, where both teams struggled to maintain a lead. DRX finally broke ahead in round 35 and successfully finished the game the following round. After this lengthy rally, FPX appeared exhausted and couldn't keep up – DRX stomped them 13-5 in the following game, progressing on to the semis.
After such a convincing win, DRX must've been feeling confident heading into the semis match against Brazilian team LOUD. The team had a similar run through their Group as FPX, managing to hang on through a Decider Match victory, but had proven stronger in the Playoffs with only a brief bit of overtime in their match against Leviatán, closing down that series 2-0.
Both teams were therefore heading into the face-off on confident footing, but LOUD were simply the better team on the day. DRX had a stunning first game on the defending side, leading the game 9-3 heading into the second half, but LOUD quickly reversed their fortunes and took the win. Game 2 ended in short order on Haven – DRX found themselves knocked into the Lower Bracket, but still with a fighting chance.
A Fnatic's passion
Waiting for them in the Lower Bracket was Fnatic, a team that DRX had avoided playing despite being in the same Group as them in the beginning. Fnatic had been knocked into the Lower Bracket by XSET in their first Playoffs match, but had bounced back after a victory over Team Liquid in their match-up. With renewed strength, Fnatic were sure to be formidable opponents – and led by the charismatic Jake 'Boaster' Howlett, they weren’t going down without a fight.
And a fight was on. The first game of the series on Icebox went to Fnatic, who led in the first half and refused to let go of their lead in the second. One wrong move in this next game would send DRX out of the competition – and what happened next was nothing short of miraculous.
Fnatic came out the gates in Game 2 on Ascent – DRX's pick – and immediately put on a strong front on the attacking side. Heading into the second half, Fnatic were leading 8-4, though DRX had managed to stop them from starting the next half on a win streak in the very last round. Now on the attacking side, DRX pushed as hard as they could, picking up more and more wins, but still not building up enough of a lead to stay comfortable.
With the score at 11-9 to Fnatic, DRX needed to pull something out of the bag. Round 21 saw them playing extremely cautiously, picking up two kills early on and then remaining in a defensive position, unwilling to move from Site A. The round was won simply by Fnatic taking too long to relocate to Site B, and their team making a mistake when planting the spike. DRX were still in it by a hair.
Round 22 looked even dicier, and indeed it ended up with most of DRX taken down while Fnatic moved to plant the spike. In a 1v2 scenario, DRX's Kim 'MaKo' Myeong-kwan had to make a move, and pulled off a truly magnificent clutch against the remaining Fnatic members to pick up the win and tie up the match.
Round 23 went much the same way – DRX holding firm, Fnatic committing to a successful push, the spike planted with two players left on either team. As DRX pushed in for a last-chance attack, Kim 'stax' Gu-taek fell while Kim 'Zest' Gi-seok took down a member of Fnatic. It all could've gone wrong for DRX if not for some slow reactions from Fnatic and a few well-placed bullets, putting DRX on top for the first time in the game, with one round between them and victory.
Sadly, Fnatic would take that last round, tying the game up 12-12 and sending them into overtime. But a stunning performance in the first two rounds of overtime saw DRX close out the game in style. And from there, Game 3 on Fracture was barely even a challenge. While the final score came to 13-9 for DRX, the team proved much stronger on both attacking and defending sides, and closed out the match on a three-round win streak.
With the fire of hope still burning for DRX, they now go into a Lower Bracket semi final against an old rival – FunPlus Phoenix. Having already beaten them once in the Playoffs 2-0, DRX must like their chances for another victory. But they can't let their guard down too much, as FPX will surely be looking for revenge. We'll have to wait and see how the rematch goes down.
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