DRX vs Paper Rex VCT Pacific 2023: DRX maintains their unbeaten streak with win over Paper Rex

Week 4 of the VCT Pacific league begins with a match that should provide plenty of thrills as we get set for DRX vs Paper Rex. Make sure to stay tuned to this page as we bring you all of the live scores and updated information for this matchup.

When Riot Games announced the formation of the Pacific League, many VCT fans had earmarked this fixture as the one to watch. The last time these two teams met was at Master Reykjavik in 2022, with DRX coming out on top of what was a thriller of a match. But quite a bit has changed since they last met.

DRX were the runaway victors in their Week 3 match against Talon Esports. The Korean side currently sits at the top of the Pacific League with a near-flawless 3 - 0 record and have yet to lose a map thus far in the competition. And while they haven't always had it easy, their roster has continued to go from strength to strength as they continue to assert their dominance in this league. There was set to be DRX's toughest test to date in the Pacific League, but in the end that turn out to be the case.

Paper Rex have had a mixed bag of results since the start of Pacific League, but still, currently sit in 3rd place in the standings. They showed a lot of improvement in their 2 - 0 win against T1. With young Russian duelist "Something" making his VCT debut. A move that should have strengthened Paper Rex's unpredictable nature within the VCT. But when it came down to it, DRX seemed unphased by Paper Rex's blind aggression. In fact it seemed as though they welcomed the pressure. With their young duelist Foxy9 coming up trumps in the battle of the substitute players. And with Paper Rex being sent packing, we are left to wonder if anybody can halt DRX's dominance right now.

We head to Ascent for Map 1 of the series in what will be a battle of the substitutes, as Something comes in for Jingg on Paper Rex and Foxy9 starts once more for DRX. Paper Rex opts to keep f0rsakeN on his Killjoy sentinel role from the T1 match, as Benkai selects Sova.

DRX takes the opening four rounds of Ascent in blistering fashion, with Foxy9 proving to be a menace against Paper Rex. Prompting the APAC side to call a very early timeout. DRX continues to increase the lead, but Paper Rex start to make them much more costly. But the Korean side continue to shut out Paper Rex's mindless aggression with their methodical gameplay. Paper Rex manages to stabilize things at the end of the half, albeit by a fine margin. But it is DRX who holds the advantage at 9 - 3 after the first half.

Paper Rex gets off to a better start in the second half with a flawless pistol round as they look to regain their footing on Ascent. But DRX brush off their initial aggression as they hit the double-digit mark at 10 - 5. And it didn't take long for DRX to put Ascent to bed from that point on, as they took the map 13 - 5 to take a well-deserved 1 - 0 lead in the series.

Paper Rex gave it a good try on their attack, but the methodical approach of DRX proves to be too much for them to handle. Particularly for Something, who has had little impact on this map with his Jett. But his opposite number Foxy9 was having a field day as he racked up 19 kills alongside a monstrous 57% headshot rate.

After a dominant performance on Ascent, DRX come into Split looking as though they will make short work of their opponents in this series. Paper Rex opts to sub Jingg back in, with their IGL Benkai making way for him. Leaving D4v41 to take over the shot calling for their team. We also see a bit of a role change come in for Paper Rex with this substitution as f0rsakeN picks Skye.

DRX takes the opening pistol round as well as the second round to get their defensive half off to a good start. But Paper Rex responds with two well-worked round wins of their own to keep things level. prompting an early timeout from DRX. The teams trade blows in the succeeding rounds. But, a tactical reset from DRX, coupled with two good plays out of MaKo, allows the Korean side to maintain control over Split. It looks as though Paper Rex might be able to tie the map up, but a 3K from Stax in round 11 shuts it down. Allowing DRX to take a narrow 7 - 5 lead into halftime.

Paper Rex opens the second half with two near-flawless round wins to tie the map at 7 - 7. And they manage to take the lead soon after thanks to the efforts of d4v41 and f0rsakeN. Prompting another early timeout from DRX. The teams enter the closing stages of this map, with DRX holding a very narrow 11 - 10 lead. But with their economy in the dirt, Paper Rex are in need of something special if they have any hope of winning this map. One that, unfortunately, does not come their way as MaKo pulls off a huge 1 v 2 clutch to take Split 13 - 10 to solidify a 2 - 0 series win for DRX.

It is a new era for the VALORANT Champions Tour as we get set for the first season of Franchising. The VCT season will see 30 teams split into three region-based leagues of 10 teams, competing for the chance to secure a spot at both Masters Tokyo in June and Champions 2023 in August. Fans who wish to watch the DRX vs Paper Rex match in the 2023 Pacific League may do so by heading to the VCT Pacific Twitch and Youtube Channels.

You can stay up to date with all of the action in the Pacific League by heading to our VALORANT Pacific hub.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and VALORANT coverage throughout the VCT 2023 Season.