DRX took a risk that gave them the victory against Cloud9 as stax went into the final map with Harbor. He and coach Termi explain why.
At Champions 2022, DRX finally broke the curse of dropping out of international VALORANT events early. They placed third and are looking to ensure the curse stays broken. The performance by them against Cloud9 at VCT LOCK//IN is proof of that. The series included three wild maps and a dominating performance by Kim "stax" Gu-taek as Harbor on Icebox.
It was a surprising pick, as the team kept Sage out of the composition and put their star Initiator on the game's newest Controller Agent. The choice more than paid off, and stax, along with DRX coach Seon-ho "termi" Pyeon discussed the selection in a post-match press conference.
Termi sees Harbor as a hybrid-style Agent rather than a straight Controller
Coach Termi always delivers with his answers. He has led this DRX team to many victories and is proud to talk about what they put together in the server. When asked about a potentially dominant double-Controller meta with likes of Viper and Harbor, he responded (through a translator):
"In terms of the double-Controller meta, I don't really think Harbor is a Controller. We like to think of him more as a hybrid Agent. He offers a lot on Icebox. When we were prepping for Icebox, we saw good results in our practice and scrims as well.
"I know other teams will try to emulate our strats with Harbor or anti-strat against it. We're very confident that because there are pros and cons of every Agent, and we know what flaws Harbor has, we don't think it will give us a hard time in the upcoming matches."
It is interesting to hear how he feels about Harbor in general. It's true that his abilities can be used in a hybrid-style and that was on full display with stax's Harbor showing against Cloud9 on Icebox.
Stax feels DRX's creativity with Harbor is what put them ahead of Cloud9 at VCT LOCK//IN
DRX faced a hard loss on the opening map against Cloud9. Pearl was a decimation by the NA team, but after that, it was all DRX. The Pacific League team evened things out on Haven and then went into Icebox, ready to make a statement.
And make a statement they did. Instead of the safe Sage pick that most teams use to clog up lanes and set up plants, stax went with Harbor. He performed incredibly and, in the post-match press conference, was asked about picking the elemental Agent over the healer (response through a translator):
"We thought Sage would be a classic pick for Icebox as well. Coming into Brazil, we really thought teams that relied on crafting and relied on being more creative would have a huge edge over the other teams. If things work out well and continue to go this way, we really think Harbor would be a good pick for Icebox. It's going to lead the pack in terms of the meta."
He's clearly confident in the pick and knows the impact it had in the match. As well, he's aware of the impact it may have in competitive VALORANT going forward. Just look at the clip below to see what stax was able to do with the Agent. You'll be a believer, too.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for your esports news and VALORANT coverage. As well, check out the VCT LOCK//IN event page for the schedule, results, and more!