DRX pulled off a sensational performance to snatch a 2 – 0 win against Furia Esports in their opening match of Champions 2022.
DRX got off to a good start to Champions 2022 with an incredible win against Furia Esports. The Korean team, who are making their second Champions appearance, got off to a rocky start to proceedings, but managed to bounce back in a big way to get their tournament prospects underway.
"It wasn't the first time we've made a crazy comeback like this. Even though we lost the pistol round in the second half and we went down 11 - 3, we had experience coming back from those kinds of games before so I think those experiences helped us out a lot."
DRX pull off another great escape to win their first match of Champions 2022
Coming into this match many predicted that DRX would walk away as the clear victors. Furia didn't seem to get that particular memo as they came out swinging against DRX to start Ascent. They managed to set the pace of this match early by winning the first eight rounds in a row. Largely due to the high-risk, high reward strategy which seemed to really catch DRX completely off-guard. Furia's ace duelist Douglas "dgzin" Silva was the one benefiting from this the most as he made himself the stuff of nightmares for DRX to handle.
Things were looking pretty good for Furia as they finished the first half of Ascent with a 9 - 3 lead. And they got off to a pretty good start on their attack half, winning four of the opening five rounds to put themselves on Map Point. But then, in typical DRX fashion, in came the all-powerful "9 - 3 Curse".
Just when they were on the brink of going down 1 - 0 in the series, DRX managed to find their second wind. And they were not taking prisoners from that point on as the Korean side managed to string together eight rounds in a row to force the map into Overtime. Despite a close fought contest in the first round of OT, the result seemed almost inevitable at the point. And, sure enough, DRX eventually managed to snatch Ascent away from Furia 16 - 14.
That win on Ascent had seemingly set DRX on the path to victory. They took a very comfortable 8 - 4 lead in the first of Haven against a bitterly deflated Furia side. Once the teams swapped sides, there was only one team still in it as DRX swept the second half to win Haven 13 - 4 to take the match 2 - 0.
DRX make "past experiences" count for them against Furia
DRX's astounding comeback on Ascent is yet another chapter in this roster's storied journey in the VCT thus far. While things looked truly desperate for them at the start of the match, they once again managed to cheat death; and on Ascent of all maps as well.
Getting off to a good start in groups has become as regular an occurrence in the VCT as it is when they make the most ridiculous of comebacks happen. And it would appear that DRX drew on their past experiences in a big way according to DRX coach Pyeon "Termi" Syeon-Ho in his post-match interview.
"It wasn't the first time we've made a crazy comeback like this," claimed DRX Coach Pyeon "Termi" Syeon-Ho. "Even though we lost the pistol round in the second half and we went down 11 - 3, we had experience coming back from those kinds of games before so I think those experiences helped us out a lot."
He also felt that his side were playing "way too passive" in the first half of Ascent, so in their timeout in the second half he urged his side to be "more proactive and more aggressive" on the map. A strategy that seemed to pay off in a big way for them in both maps of this series.
Buzz turned things around in a big way for DRX
This was a match for the ages, especially after that game on Ascent. And while it was a collective effort from the team, there were few who played a bigger part in that comeback than Yu "BuZz" Byung-Chul.
The duelist got off to a seriously poor start on Ascent. Failing to register a kill on the map until the 9th round of regulation time. But after the team went down 12 - 4, it seemed like he had kicked things into overdrive. With each round DRX won it seemed like he was gaining more and more confidence as the game went on. And it showed in his gameplay when he started to pull of the kinds of ridiculous plays we have come to expect from him in the past. From dashing straight up the middle of Ascent to bag a 4k, to causing pure mayhem on Haven, the man just seemed unkillable at times.
What he and DRX pulled off truly was Mission Impossible level unreal. And his efforts culminated in him finishing at the top of the scoreboard with a +12 K/D. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to snatch the MVP crown away from "9 - 3 Curse" in the eyes of the fans. But we all know who the real MVP of that match was.
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