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Another One: DRX’s comeback from 2-10 against Bilibili Gaming to secure 2-0 win at Valorant Champions 2023
The first game of day 2 of Valorant Champions 2023 Knockout stage featured DRX taking on Bilibili Gaming. Both the teams have been scim partners for a while and know how they react and play. Starting with the map veto, DRX decided to ban Bind. They have a Yoru composition and had defeated Natus Vincere in the last game. Explaining the ban, DRX Termi said:
“We have scrimmed Bilibili on Bind before. Watching them play NRG on bind, I realized they play Bind really smart. And watching NRG crumble made me think that maybe their Bind in relatively strong so I decided to ban Bind”
The Comeback Kings!:
The game started with Lotus, an attack sided map. DRX looked extremely uncomfortable and sloppy during the rounds. They had plans but on multiple rounds died to utils and were shut down before entering the site itself. With Bilibili also actively probing around the map, flanking and rotating effectively, DRX only managed to get two rounds in the first half. Talking about their sloppy performance DRX Stax explained:
“We weren’t really used to getting our Bio rhythm ready for waking up so early and playing game 1. That affected our performance during game1 first half. During those rounds we were giving away too many weaknesses or clues that our opponents exploited.”
As the second half started, DRX “woke up” and went on to win eleven rounds in a row to secure a score of 13-10 after a 2-10 half.
During the first half, Termi called the first time out early but did call the second timeout despite the team’s dire situation explaining it as follows:
“In our previous matches, there were games when I called both the timeouts in the first half. But for me, not having those timeouts in the second half was a huge risk for the whole team. So I didn’t hoping that the team would pull through”
The “Haven”ly brawl:
DRX started strong on Haven. After the amazing comeback they pulled on Lotus, it seemed that they would run away with the map. But after the 0-6 deficit, Bilibili Gaming pulled back and secured five rounds, recovering the half. They equalized in the second half. DRX recovered after the six round streak and fended off all the Bilibili Gaming attack. Zest was a massive anchor for DRX and helped DRX secure the map. With the map win, DRX secured a 0-2 victory. Talking about the loss, BLG coach Jexen says:
“We had a smooth start on the first map of Lotus. But in the second half, we lost some clutch and important rounds. We had a messy tempo so had trouble closing the rounds. On Haven, we did not expect them to pull out a Viper composition, DRX did not usually play, the kind of composition and the agents on Haven. Down the line, we did make adjustments but it was too late. But the main reason why we could not get a win today was definitely a messy game tempo for Lotus.”
After losing to DRX, Bilibili Gaming faced EDwards Gaming in the lower bracket and were eliminated. DRX will face Evil Geniuses today for the Upper Finals qualification in the Shrine. For more updates on Valorant Champions 2023, follow Valorant Champions tour Twitter.
Credits: Riot Games // Valorant Champions Tour.