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) swept Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #3 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid 2-0 in both teams' first match of Masters Bangkok. After winning the regional title at Pacific Kickoff, DRX started their run in Bangkok by stomping through the second-best team in the Americas.

After the teams banned Fracture and Pearl, Sentinels began by picking Lotus. When DRX won the pistol off of clean coordination from HYUNMIN and free1ng , it was only a sign of things to come. DRX could not convert their bonus but kept the lead all the same off of their Tejo composition. Sentinels didn't run Tejo, instead sticking with Vyse, Fade, and Viper. DRX showed discipline on the attack side, with round four just one example of a near-perfect call from IGL MaKo.

MaKo calls a perfect hit through A site on Lotus.

Out of all the players on the attack side, it was free1ng who outclassed Sentinels in both utility and aim, proving his title as one of the best Tejos in VCT. DRX ended the first half up 9-3 and were perfect on their defense side to win map one, Sentinels' map pick of Lotus, 13-3 in dominant fashion. Both free1ng and HYUNMIN had a great international tournament debut, but free1ng was the star as he ended Lotus with a rating of 1.90.

The next map was Haven, and Sentinels needed a bounceback after such a one-sided loss on Lotus. Sentinels matched the Tejo and Breach from DRX this time, but DRX chose Yoru, Cypher, and Omen while Sentinels opted for Astra, Vyse, and Jett. The first half started well as Sentinels won pistol, but were unable to convert the bonus round. The Sentinels attack was a rollercoaster, winning rounds and losing rounds in bunches.

Sentinels ended the half with a 7-5 lead and needed to improve on their defense half to win their first match in Bangkok. Yet, once again, it was the star of Lotus, free1ng, who popped up to get DRX the second-half pistol win and quickly shift momentum once again.

free1ng gets a triple kill to stop the flood defense from Sentinels.

DRX converted their bonus round for the first time at Masters Bangkok to put all the pressure on Sentinels, reaching a 10-6 lead. Sentinels were quick to fight back and win four of the next five rounds, but DRX closed the map out 13-10.

bang had an amazing map as Astra, but it was an outstanding performance from Flashback with a rating of 1.55 on Haven and a 1.38 rating across the series to help get DRX ahead in the Swiss Stage.

DRX now has one Swiss Stage win alongside EDward Gaming, while both Sentinels and Team Liquid begin their tournaments with a loss. DRX will face off against another 1-0 team on February 22, while Sentinels will face off against another 0-1 team on February 23.