DRG continues lower bracket run with 2-0 win

Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #7 Flex1n Lo Rui (罗瑞) vo0kashu Ilya Ushakov Cangshu Zheng Yujun (手郑宇峻) Nicc Shao Yi-qun (邵逸群) TvirusLuke Chen Cheng-ching Ying Wang Chenxu (王晨旭) SpiritZ1 Lin Dingyu (林定宇) has reached the top six at Kickoff China following a 2-0 victory against Nova Esports Nova Esports China Rank #5 o0o0o Ye Xiaodong (叶晓东) SWERL Ali Kobraee CB Wang Qingchuan (王庆川) Ezeir Zhao Zejun (赵泽骏) GuanG Guang Honglin (光洪霖) . The win means DRG has an opportunity to stay in the tournament, needing two more wins to confirm a spot in Masters: Bangkok. Their opponent, Nova, is now eliminated from the tournament after doing the same to off-season heavy hitters Wolves Esports.

This matchup has only happened three times in the past, with Nova coming out on top twice, including a recent 2-1 win in the off-season. The new meta meant the map veto featured completely different maps compared to their WALL-E Cup encounter, with Dragon Ranger Gaming taking Pearl, Nova opting for Bind, and Abyss remaining as the decider. DRG permabanning Fracture took away a strong Nova map, while Nova's ban, Haven, did the same to DRG. Pearl tended to be Nova's second ban, arguably giving DRG the upper hand in this series.

Pearl opened the series, with Nova starting on defense. After winning the pistol, DRG took an early lead, but was quickly matched by their opponent's strong defense. These ideas continued after a tactical timeout, but DRG began taking rounds off of new rounds and winning aim duels. Statistically, Flex1n stood out from his peers, getting 13 eliminations on Astra, while Nicc trailed close behind, finding only 11 kills but contributing to the 8-4 half with 10 assists.

Nova secured the second pistol round after an Ezeir 3K. DRG kept them at bay by strengthening their B site, and choosing to force after a Nova point paid off, putting them at double digits. An anti-eco win and straightforward A hold put DRG at match point. Ezeir found a quadruple kill the following round, but only delayed the inevitable. SpiritZ1 responded in kind in the final round, a sneaky play supported by Flex1n all but confirming DRG's 13-8 win.

The match continued on Bind, with Nova needing a win to stay in the series. Starting on defense, Dragon Ranger Gaming won the pistol round, countering Nova's B long push. CB helped his team secure the bonus round, and a GuanG 3K tied the scoreline. The teams continued trading points, with DRG eventually taking the lead on an anti-eco. The first half ended 7-5 in DRG's favor, a strong defense and early retake handing SpiritZ1 the clutch on a silver platter.

Not willing to go down without a fight, Nova once again took the second pistol round, eventually tying the map at 7-7. Despite this, DRG stayed in control of the series, winning another three rounds without much issue. Round 18 came down to another 1v1 between SpiritZ1 and GuanG, which SpiritZ1 won without much issue thanks to his ultimate advantage, the win forcing Nova into a low buy the following round. DRG remained superior, winning the final rounds and closing out Bind 13-7, eliminating Nova from Kickoff with the 2-0 victory.

Dragon Ranger Gaming will now need to best FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix China Rank #9 Autumn Kale Dunne Life Qu Donghao (瞿东豪) AAAAY Zhang Yang (张杨) BerLIN Zhang Bolin (張柏霖) yosemite Wang Lei (王磊) in an elimination bout, a matchup which FPX has won every time in the past. The winner of the series will, should EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 S1Mon Hsien Meng-Hsun (谢孟勋) ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) win their own match, have an opportunity to play against the 2024 Champions in an effort to reach the top-three.