DRX DRX Korea Rank #4 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Athan Na Ha-jun (나하준) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) have benched their in-game leader Kim "stax" Gu-taek (김구택). This leaves DRX with one slot open in their starting roster heading into Stage 2 of the VCT Pacific 2024 regular season. stax will remain a restricted free agent.
stax was one of the original DRX members back when they were known as Vision Strikers. Ever since 2020, he has been the leader of a core that has seen success both regionally and internationally. Most notably, stax helped DRX finish in third place at Valorant Champions 2022 and won the in-game leader of the year award for VCT Pacific as recently as 2023.
With this departure, DRX will have to run a new IGL mid-season after finishing the Stage 1 regular season undefeated. For a team that kept its core players together for so long, their 2024 season has been defined by change. From releasing Kim "Zest" Ki-seok (김기석) and Rb to integrating Jung "Foxy9" Jae-sung (정재성) and Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin (강하빈), the coaching staff and stax had to work alongside the changes to continue their chance at a championship.
The team went undefeated in Stage 1 until the playoffs, where they lost to Paper Rex and Gen.G, leading them to miss out on their second straight international tournament. Their path to Shanghai was arguably the toughest in the region, and their new additions needed more time to gel together with the experienced core. Now, the core has shrunk from three players to just two, outside their longtime coach Pyeon "termi" Seon-ho (편선호). Whether Flashback returns or not, a new IGL will have their chance to lead DRX to Valorant Champions in 2024.
DRX DRX Korea Rank #4 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Athan Na Ha-jun (나하준) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) is now: