DRX faces their worst nightmare, C9, in quarterfinals of VCT LOCK//IN

DRX, ever since their Vision Striker days, has been one of the most formidable teams in VALORANT. Since their inception, the roster has only lost 12 series. DRX's next challenge is against C9 in the VCT LOCK//IN Round of 16.

Of these defeats, four of those losses have been to C9 and OpTic Gaming. At 2021 Champions, DRX faced an early exit from the group stage after a loss to Cloud 9. The North American team still consists of the same core of Vanity, Leaf, and Xeppa to date.

The second foe DRX struggled with handling was OpTic Gaming. They lost to them in the upper bracket semifinals at VCT Masters Reykjavik 2022 and again at VCT Masters Copenhagen 2022. A key factor behind both of these losses was Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker. In both matchups, yay had absolutely demonic stats. At Reykjavik, he had 14 first kills which was a key reason why OpTic was able to close out map three in their favor despite DRX bringing it to OT.

Copenhagen was just a show of dominance from yay once again. He had a massive 304 ACS against DRX on the Chamber, with 20 first kills (for comparison, the entire DRX roster had 21 put together) and a net positive kill/death differential of 21. Once again, DRX lost in the upper bracket semifinals.

The third time they faced off was at Champions, in the lower bracket finals. The winner would make the grand finals, while the losers would have to be content with a third-place finish. DRX did not make it easy. They lost the first two maps but won two of their own. Map five was a bitter tug-of-war between the teams but in the end, OpTic prevailed. Once again, yay was the series MVP with 245 ACS, the highest on the server, and a net kill/death differential of 31.

In four of their five international appearances, DRX has lost to Cloud9 or OpTic Gaming. Now, it seems like their nightmares have converged into one huge beast to slay. They will face the Cloud9 core of Vanity, Xeppa, and Leaf, who defeated them at VCT Champions 2021. Alongside them stands yay, who has already proven himself to be a persistent thorn in DRX's side.

DRX are no slouches either. Despite having lost so often to OpTic, the series themselves always stretched to all three/five maps and were usually a close affair. They have already won their first series at LOCK//IN against BBL Esports, with a dominant 13-3 first map to boot.

Another thing the team has going for them is synergy. They've been playing together for more than two years now, ever since their Vision Striker days. Undisputably the best team in South Korea, they hold record for the longest winning streak in VALORANT history.

The team is also feeling quite confident. Their head coach termi said in an interview that they didn't have any main rivals in the Pacific region. “I believe we are the strongest team out here,” said termi. Termi also mentioned he was a little sad that DRX couldn’t defeat OpTic Gaming at least once. According to him, DRX isn't too focused on the team's results in Brazil. DRX and termi see the event as an "opportunity to grow."

That said, they're definitely looking to make it all the way. After Cloud9's stomp over fellow Pacific-partnered team Paper Rex, DRX is looking to avenge their fellow brethren.

DRX plays against C9 at VCT LOCK//IN in a single-elimination series. If DRX pulls it off, they advance in the bracket and are only one more win away from making the playoffs. If they lose, they go home. Will the fifth time be the charm for them?

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