VCT Pacific Pre-Show: DRX lifts the Gwangju Esports Series Asia trophy
The Gwangju Esports Series Asia tournament gave us a pre-show of VCT Pacific 2023. Featuring DRX Valorant, Talon Esports, ZETA Esports and Gen.G Valorant, the tournament was played over the weekend on LAN at Gwangju Esports Centre, Chosun University, Gwangju. The total prize pool of the tournament was 20,000,000 KRW.
[embed]https://twitter.com/DRX_VS/status/1593168108239597568[/embed]
With the tournament being part of the Official VCT OFF//Season, the invitees were part of VCT Pacific 2023. The tournament was the debut of GenG and Talon Esports after the roster acquisition. The tournament also featured DRX with foxy9 and Zeta division.
With just four teams, The tournament featured a single-elimination bracket with a match for third place.
Starting on Ascent, Gen.G dominated DRX's defence to win seven rounds in a row to win the first half 8-4. DRX answered back on their attack but had trouble closing in and started the series with a map loss of 11-13.
DRX dominated the second map of Fracture, winning the first half 10-2 on defence and converting it to a firm 13-3 finish.
On the final map, DRX dominated Gen.G on attack and closed the first half of the final map with a scoreline of 9-3 and converted this six-round lead into a decisive win.
[embed]https://twitter.com/DRX_VS/status/1596399288330096640[/embed]
The Talon debuted in the tournament without Patiphan but started their opening match against Zeta strong. The XERXIA core took over the game. Starting on Icebox, the team was able to pull ahead with a 9-3 score and converted the lead into a decisive map victory,
Zeta's Ascent started with Talon on the receiving side of the beating in the first half. Zeta's attacks were too much for Talon to handle, and Talon's half ended with a 3-9 score. Talon came back on the attack and won six rounds in a row to force overtime. In overtime, Talon edged out the ZETA division to win the series 2-0.
[embed]https://twitter.com/Talon_esports/status/1596450717744926722[/embed]
The third-place consolation finals started with Pearl. After a closely contested first half concluded with both sides winning six rounds, ZETA, on the attack in the second half, ran away with the map winning seven rounds to close the map 13-10.
Gen.G started strong on Icebox but could not penetrate the ZETA defence and lost the first half 4-8. Despite a shaky start, ZETA capitalised on the four-round lead to win the game 13-7. With the win, ZETA places third in the tournament.
Starting on Icebox, picked by Talon, DRX fended off the Talon attack to win the first four rounds to edge out talon 7-5 in the first half. DRX, on the attack, secured the game 13-8.
Ascent started with Talon winning the first two rounds, but DRX won the next right rounds to close the first half 8-4 and converted this to a map win to move 2-0 up in the BO5 series.
Haven started with DRX taking an early 5-0 lead and converting it into an 8-4 half. Talon seemed to be coming back, but DRX's defence held strong to win Haven 13-8, winning the series 3-0.
[embed]https://twitter.com/DRX_VS/status/1596813162304917504[/embed]
The Dragon Roared once winning, winning the second Korean VCT OFF//SEASON LAN tournament establishing an early lead in the scene and sending a warning across the VCT Pacific 2023.
Image Credit: DRX VS Twitter
[embed]https://twitter.com/DRX_VS/status/1593168108239597568[/embed]
Gwangju Esports Series Asia Matches:
With the tournament being part of the Official VCT OFF//Season, the invitees were part of VCT Pacific 2023. The tournament was the debut of GenG and Talon Esports after the roster acquisition. The tournament also featured DRX with foxy9 and Zeta division.
With just four teams, The tournament featured a single-elimination bracket with a match for third place.
Opening Match 1 - Gen.G Valorant 1-2 DRX Valorant:
Starting on Ascent, Gen.G dominated DRX's defence to win seven rounds in a row to win the first half 8-4. DRX answered back on their attack but had trouble closing in and started the series with a map loss of 11-13.
DRX dominated the second map of Fracture, winning the first half 10-2 on defence and converting it to a firm 13-3 finish.
On the final map, DRX dominated Gen.G on attack and closed the first half of the final map with a scoreline of 9-3 and converted this six-round lead into a decisive win.
[embed]https://twitter.com/DRX_VS/status/1596399288330096640[/embed]
Opening Match 2 - Talon Esports 2-0 ZETA Division:
The Talon debuted in the tournament without Patiphan but started their opening match against Zeta strong. The XERXIA core took over the game. Starting on Icebox, the team was able to pull ahead with a 9-3 score and converted the lead into a decisive map victory,
Zeta's Ascent started with Talon on the receiving side of the beating in the first half. Zeta's attacks were too much for Talon to handle, and Talon's half ended with a 3-9 score. Talon came back on the attack and won six rounds in a row to force overtime. In overtime, Talon edged out the ZETA division to win the series 2-0.
[embed]https://twitter.com/Talon_esports/status/1596450717744926722[/embed]
Third Place Match-up - Gen.G Valorant 0-2 ZETA Division:
The third-place consolation finals started with Pearl. After a closely contested first half concluded with both sides winning six rounds, ZETA, on the attack in the second half, ran away with the map winning seven rounds to close the map 13-10.
Gen.G started strong on Icebox but could not penetrate the ZETA defence and lost the first half 4-8. Despite a shaky start, ZETA capitalised on the four-round lead to win the game 13-7. With the win, ZETA places third in the tournament.
Grand Finals - DRX Valorant 3-0 Talon Esports:
Starting on Icebox, picked by Talon, DRX fended off the Talon attack to win the first four rounds to edge out talon 7-5 in the first half. DRX, on the attack, secured the game 13-8.
Ascent started with Talon winning the first two rounds, but DRX won the next right rounds to close the first half 8-4 and converted this to a map win to move 2-0 up in the BO5 series.
Haven started with DRX taking an early 5-0 lead and converting it into an 8-4 half. Talon seemed to be coming back, but DRX's defence held strong to win Haven 13-8, winning the series 3-0.
[embed]https://twitter.com/DRX_VS/status/1596813162304917504[/embed]
The Dragon Roared once winning, winning the second Korean VCT OFF//SEASON LAN tournament establishing an early lead in the scene and sending a warning across the VCT Pacific 2023.
Image Credit: DRX VS Twitter