In a matchup between two regional champions, Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #1 trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Derke Nikita Sirmitev Kicks Kimmie Laasner Sayf Saif Jibraeel Less Felipe de Loyola Basso downed DRX DRX Korea Rank #3 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) 2-1 in the second round of the Masters Bangkok to secure the first of four playoff spots.

The clash between the European squad, chocked full of veterans, and the Korean team, bursting with the energy of two super rookies, was the first match at the event to reach three maps.

Vitality stuck with their perma ban of Pearl, while DRX banned Haven. That left Vitality to pick Bind, and DRX to pick Abyss, arguably their strongest map in 2025. The teams then banned Fracture and Lotus respectively, leaving Split to be the decider.

Bind, a map that DRX has seen go to overtime in both times it has been played, began with Vitality seizing the momentum. An early run granted them a 6-2 lead, thanks to solid defensive protocols despite their zero Sentinel team comp. The last four rounds of the half were split, granting Vitality an 8-4 advantage once the teams switched sides.

Despite a monstrous 328 ACS from DRX super rookie HYUNMIN , DRX struggled to get a foothold on the map. Three straight rounds to open their defense half narrowed the deficit to one, but a 5-1 run saw the European side close the map without ever looking quite uncomfortable.

A Vitality 3v5 to seal the deal on Bind.

Abyss, the second map, is arguably DRX's strongest. They have not lost on it since last year's Pacific Stage 2 lower final, and have won six times since then through Champions 2024 and Pacific Kickoff.

DRX entered Bangkok by debuting HYUNMIN's Yoru, and with him locking in the agent again on Abyss, the change appeared to be a vital one in their approach. In-game leader MaKo was also on Omen as opposed to his usual Astra, a deliberate move looking to assist his Duelist on site entries.

If Bind was back-and-forth, Abyss was even more so. The teams traded thrifty rounds, going punch for punch, and eventually knotted at six rounds each after Vitality finished their attacking half.

On a map that saw Derke cement himself as one of the game's all-time greats by becoming the first player to ever eclipse the 2,000-kill mark in global VCT events, it was MaKo who outshined him. On the last round of the map, with Vitality threatening to bring the teams to overtime, it was a wonderfully orchestrated round from him that got DRX over the line.

DRX drops just one body to shut the door on Abyss.

Split, the decider map, was a relative unknown for both teams, at least in comparison to Bind or Abyss. They both played the map just once in 2025, meaning there was not much film to base their decisions on.

While free1ng , who has quickly established himself as one of the world's best Tejo players in his rookie campaign, had a red-hot start to the map on DRX's attack side, the veterans of Team Vitality inevitably began to heat up themselves.

The first half ended with the teams tied 6-6, but excellent team play saw Vitality seal the first four rounds of their attack half. While a couple of rounds were blundered after letting the clock run low, a thrifty round shut down any momentum that DRX began to boil up.

A map and match-defining thrifty for Team Vitality.

With match point secured, Vitality appeared to get into their own heads again, allowing the clock to wind down and losing three straight rounds to let their opponents climb to 11. With overtime five deaths or 100 seconds away, Vitality sealed the deal to reach playoffs. It is their first time reaching the playoffs in an international event in the organization's history.

Derke closed the series as the man on top, with his 78 kills, including 19 first bloods, pacing all players in the match. His 315 ACS also led the match, while nobody else on his team had a score higher than 200.

With the win, Team Vitality secures the first of the four playoff spots up for grabs, while DRX moves to the win-or-go-home step of the Swiss Stage, where they will be drawn against a team with a 1-1 record.

Masters Bangkok will continue with the following matches: