DRX DRX Korea Unranked Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) triumphed in the clash of titans against Gen.G Gen.G Korea Unranked Foxy9 Jung Jae-sung (정재성) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) yoman Chae Young-moon (채영문) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) in the Pacific Kickoff upper semifinals, getting a 2-0 win that puts them one win away from Masters Bangkok.

The upper bracket semis were the stage for one of the most legendary APAC confrontations of the VCT. For the past year, Gen.G and DRX have been two of the best teams in the region and in the world. Most recently, they fought for the regional crown in July's Stage 2 grand finals, where Gen.G took a 3-1 victory.

DRX's wins against Gen.G have always come in 2-1 fashion. The latest of these was in April of last year, when DRX needed three long maps to overcome Gen.G. Today was a simpler effort, one where DRX needed just two maps to find victory.

MaKo and BeYN hug after a win Photo by VCT Pacific

At no point did the match ever feel out of control for DRX, who shot up to a 9-3 lead on Abyss faster than anyone could say it. DRX had a firm grip on the match and it only came into question in the final rounds of Bind.

DRX tranquilly climbed to a 12-6 match point on their opponents' pick, at which point Gen.G took a timeout. In the following round, t3xture saved his team with a jumping 1v2 on B. In the next round, Karon won a 1v1 in Lamps. DRX took their own timeouts, but it did not matter: Gen.G pushed the map into overtime.

It took two overtimes, when the win came out of nowhere. DRX was up 14-13 after a strong A retake and, on attack, decided to attack that same site. Just as Gen.G began to retake the site, IGL MaKo popped out from behind the wooden boxes and tapped down three to give his team the match win.

“During those overtimes, we kept telling ourselves: ‘let's not repeat history. We can do this. Let's not lose like last year,'” BeYN said in the post-match interview. “I'm really, really glad we pushed through and were able to get this win.”

Absolute cinema.

BeYN, alongside free1ng , carried DRX on Abyss, as they were the only two players to claim more than 15 frags. DRX stepped up as a collective on Bind, but free1ng again stood out with 27 frags and a 1.34 rating while playing exclusively Tejo. Overall, he reigned with a 1.40 rating.

free1ng actually tied for entries with HYUNMIN , despite finishing with much higher numbers across the board. They combined for 16 first bloods, a stark contrast to t3xture, who was the first to die on 14 occasions.

DRX's victory places them in the upper finals of Pacific Kickoff. Last time they were in this position was May 2023, where they lost to Paper Rex 2-0. DRX — back then playing with stax and BuZz — made it to the grand final, only to lose to the same roster 3-2.

The Koreans have undergone thorough roster changes since. They have become a new breed, with a new opponent set in their sights.

On the other side of the grand final is T1, where BeYN's former teammates stax and BuZz play.

“I believe in karma. I don't want to trash talk and have it bite me in the butt. I don't know about BuZz, because he's nice, but stax, I'm coming for you. Just wait until the next game, I'm coming for you.”