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"So I think he is a really good agent" DRX Rb playing Yoru against Natus Vincere at Valorant Champions 2023
The final game of day 2 featured the first playoff qualification match of Valorant Champions 2023. The fixture had the group D opening games winners taking on each other. On one hand we had DRX, the reinvigorated dragons and on the other we had Natus Vincere, the European powerhouse. The two strongholds started their brawl on Bind. DRX came to the map with a new composition with Yoru in the mix. On the map, Natus Vincere secured a strong lead. But DRX came back to secure an overtime victory. NaVi won back Split to force a third map. The final map once again went to overtime with DRX closing out the final map 14-12.
Riot organized a press conference following the intense series. At the press conference, NaVi and DRX answered questions from Strafe. Following is an excerpt from the press conference.
Q. After the 12-14 loss on Bind, What did you tell the team so they can reset themselves to win Split?
NaVi doombr0s: “Resetting a team, it always happens by itself. But what I always tell myself, and I hope the players believe in it, is that if you have a close game against someone and you are losing, it is better than getting fully destroyed. I had a feeling that we should’ve won that, the team had a feeling that we should’ve won that, We thought we were a better team, and we just need to take that energy to the next map and I think we showed it”
Q. Who do you think would win in the LOUD-Team Liquid game? Who’d you rather face?
NaVi doombr0s: “I would rather face LOUD, just because we have not played them before. I think it (LOUD-LIQUID) would be a close game. Maybe Liquid would win, maybe loud, it depends on the day I’d say. Both are kinda equal in strength.”
Q. Congratulations on qualification. What are your thoughts on the team’s performance?
DRX Termi: “First of all thank you very much. Today was definitely one of the trickier games but I am just so proud of all the players on the team because on Bind it was the resilience that they’ve displayed making a huge comeback. They also stayed focused on Lotus so I am really really proud of them”
Q. This was DRX and your first time playing Yoru. How was the experience playing the agent? What was the idea behind incorporating Yoru into the team’s composition?
DRX Rb: “Before picking the Yoru, we actually watched Americas LCQ with 100 Thieves and Sentinels on Bind, where they both played Yoru. We all checked it out, we reviewed the VOD, we weighed the pros and cons and had discussions before we decided to run him.
As for me playing Yoru, It felt like I was playing a different game from my teammates, there are sometimes when you just play for yourself and sometimes you make those selfish plays as well. But as a Yoru, you are free to go wherever, there’s a lot of freedom with the decisions you make in-game. Yoru I think he’s a viable agent, he is a really good agent. It is largely because you have a flash, you have this ability where you can just go kill, and play for yourself very easily. So I think he is a really good agent.”
Q. Was there a reason you chose to play Split over Ascent. Especially given the fact that NaVi hasn’t shown the map yet. Moreover, you had defeated LOUD, a strong Ascent team just yesterday?
DRX Termi: “Personally I thought NaVi’s split was weaker than their Ascent. But from the results, from what we saw today, I think they are actually pretty good on Split. The reason for not picking Ascent tho, last year at Istanbul during the Champions, we went overtime after overtime on Ascent against them. So I thought Ascent might be a tough pick for us so we just decided to go with Split”
With the victory, DRX became the first team to qualify for the Valorant Champions 2023 Playoffs.
On day 3, Evil Geniuses defeated FUT to become the second playoffs bound team. The Valorant action continues in The Shrine today. For more updates on Valorant Champions 2023, follow Valorant Champions tour Twitter.
Credits: Riot Games // Valorant Champions Tour.
