DRX downs T1 in instant classic, claims first VCT trophy at Kickoff

In their quest to return to the top of Korean Valorant and win their first Pacific Trophy, 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) defeated T1 T1 Korea Unranked stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) Sylvan Go Young-sup (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) in the Pacific Kickoff grand final, toughing out a tight 3-2 win. The series was a rematch of the upper finals, which DRX had won 2-1 with just three rounds separating the two sides.

While both teams were searching for their first-ever VCT trophies, DRX was looking to reclaim their position at the top of Korean Valorant, which it lost in 2024 with the rise of 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) . T1 on the other hand were playing in their first-ever grand final and also searching for their first VCT trophy of any kind.

With the double map ban online, DRX banned Pearl and Haven. The maps selected were DRX's Abyss, T1's Lotus, DRX's Fracture, T1's Bind, and the decider map Split.

Abyss, which DRX has yet to lose in VCT play since its arrival, was a dominant one for DRX. T1 looked to mitigate a quick 4-0 DRX start with a timeout, but the most they could manage was one round before DRX won the next six. A halftime lead of 10-2 was easily converted into 13-3 after pistol and anti-eco rounds were clinched by DRX.

Abyss was yet another great map for free1ng , who has exclusively played Tejo throughout Kickoff and has quickly gained respect as one of the world's best on the agent. He finished the map with the most kills, ending with a 21-5 scoreline.

Lotus was the map that T1 had defeated DRX on in their upper final meeting. In the early moments, T1 appeared to be shutting down DRX as DRX had done to them on Abyss. Holding a 7-1 lead on defense, T1 played sharply, but four straight DRX rounds made for a more even 7-5 halftime scoreline.

The combination between Meteor 's Iso Undercut and stax 's Sova Shock Darts saw the pair link up on a number of occasions. Meanwhile, BuZz had a strong map after struggling in the series against Gen.G, picking up a map-high 20 kills en route to a 13-6 win.

Fracture, a map well-suited to Tejo, saw both teams field the agent for the first time in the series, with T1 flex player iZu looking to take on free1ng. Though typically attacker-favored, Fracture was more defense-sided on this day.

DRX's defense saw them enter halftime on Fracture with an 8-4 lead, but that lead whittled down as the teams switched sides. T1 seized the momentum, working to cut the DRX lead down to 11-9, but a miraculous DRX thrifty saw them reach match point and eventually push T1 aside.

The round was made possible thanks to a crafty utility combo from free1ng's Tejo and BeYN 's Breach, which picked off T1 in-game leader stax for the opening kill of the round. DRX went on to convert the next round to clinch the map 13-9.

Bind, the fourth map, is one that both teams had recent success on. DRX defeated Gen.G in the upper semifinal in 15-13 overtime, while T1's five-map lower final bout with Gen.G ended on Bind, fueled by a 9-0 start.

The map started out rocky for both teams. T1 won the opening pistol, but gave up an eco. To open the second half, DRX's pistol was countered with a T1 eco. The back and forth between the rounds rendered DRX's 7-5 halftime lead nearly pointless, as the two teams were separated by no less than two rounds for the entirety of the second half.

That was until a near-perfect read from DRX seemed to get ahead on T1's attack. A string of three straight rounds saw them reach match point with a 12-8 advantage, but like in their match against Gen.G, DRX slipped. Moments of heroics from the likes of Meteor and carpe saw T1 force overtime, which they dominantly converted.

After winning six straight rounds through the end of regulation and overtime, T1 forced the series to Split, the decider map. T1 changed their team comp on the map, moving away from the double Duelist, no Sentinel comp, and putting Meteor on Chamber.

It was DRX's first time playing Split this season, and they made quite the debut. After dropping the first pistol round on attack, MaKo's hero buy of a Guardian helped fuel an anti-eco for his team. That momentum continued, as DRX won the next five rounds to claim a 6-1 lead.

T1 did manage to claw their way back, holding DRX to just a 7-5 lead at halftime. Still, the attack was their weaker side from the match played against Gen.G the day before. Both teams again seemed destined for a close finish. Before the match was tied at 11, DRX strayed ahead by fine margins, but the deficit was never greater than two in the second half.

In the end, a few moments of individual brilliance and more moments of magic from free1ng's Tejo saw DRX close the book on T1, lifting their first-ever VCT trophy.

DRX's rookie Duelist HYUNMIN came alive on Split. While having his fair share of struggles on the four maps before, his map-leading 29 kills paved the way for DRX to edge out their opponents to the 13-11 victory.

HYUNMIN ended the series with a team-high 92 kills for DRX, while BuZz's 101 kills against his former team were not enough in the losing effort.

Both teams already had their tickets to Masters Bangkok punched, but the result gives DRX the Pacific region's first seed, matching them up with a second seed from another region. DRX also claims three championship points, which may play a crucial role in qualification for Champions Paris. T1 leaves the event with two points and will be the second seed at Masters, while Gen.G claims one championship point.