VALORANT - Champions 2025: DRX a Tale of Resilience and Evolution (9/16)

From 12 September to 5 October, the VALORANT Champions 2025 Paris will take place in Paris. To celebrate this event, Sheep Esports will be presenting one of the 16 qualifying teams each day, in the lead-up to the start of the tournament. On Thursday, the countdown continues with an introduction to DRX, the fourth seed from VCT Pacific.

DRX got off to a flying start at the beginning of 2025, storming through the Pacific Kickoff tournament in January and February. In a dramatic best-of-five final, the revamped team narrowly beat rivals T1 3–2. This victory was the first sign of the team’s resurgence and came shortly after DRX added the rising talents No “Free1ng” Ha-jun and Song "HYUNMIN" Hyun-min to their line-up.

Encouraged by their success in the Kickoff, DRX advanced to the international stage at Masters Bangkok. They got off to a strong start with a 2–0 upset over Sentinels in Swiss Round 1, but then hit a wall. They lost 1–2 to Team Vitality and 0–2 to Team Liquid. This result left DRX tied for 5th–6th place, eliminating them from the Swiss Stage. Returning home for VCT Pacific Stage 1, DRX regrouped and demonstrated the same strength that had won them the Kickoff tournament.

Coach Pyeon "termi" Seon-ho remained at the helm, and in April, the team strengthened their support core by signing Park "Estrella" Geon. Later in the month, veteran flex player Cho "Flashback" Min-hyuk was temporarily transferred to the academy, suggesting that DRX were experimenting to find the optimal combination. During the round-robin stage, DRX won several key matchups and secured a top-four spot. However, their run ended in heartbreak when they dropped into the lower bracket and lost a tight semi-final 0–2 to Paper Rex.

Stage 2 brought more adjustments. DRX promoted prospect Kim “Flicker” Tae-hee and reinstated Flashback to the main lineup, thus expanding their tactical options for Paris. During the group stage, the team performed consistently and DRX entered the playoffs in a strong position. However, the elimination bracket proved unforgiving. In the upper bracket, they were narrowly defeated by Gen.G and dropped into the lower bracket. They then lost the lower-bracket semifinal 0–2 to Rex Regum Qeon. This left DRX in fifth–sixth place at Stage 2, falling short of another title but earning enough points to qualify for the Champions tournament.

Early in the year, they relied on Abyss, Fracture, and Split as confident picks. Abyss, in particular, looked strong in the Kickoff run. Meanwhile, Lotus and Icebox did a lot of heavy lifting through Stage 1. As the mid-year rotation settled in and Icebox, Split, and Fracture dropped out, their performance in the current pool became more inconsistent.

Ascent and Haven were situational but workable. Bind was volatile from series to series, Abyss was still promising with limited reps, and Sunset and the new Corrode produced the shakiest results, notably at Esports World Cup and Stage 2. Heading into Paris, expect DRX to try to steer vetoes toward Lotus, Haven, and Ascent, with Abyss as a pocket pick, and to avoid prolonged fights on Sunset and Corrode, where recent losses piled up.

• Abyss: 100% (3 game)
• Ascent: 78% (9 games)
• Bind: 67% (6 games)
• Corrode: 50% (3 games)
• Haven: 64% (11 games)
• Lotus: 53% (17 games)
• Sunset: 40% (5 games)

A central storyline throughout the season was the rise of Song "HYUNMIN" Hyun-min, an 18-year-old newcomer to the scene. The young Korean Duelist that DRX signed in October 2024, and although he was largely unknown when he entered the VCT circuit, HYUNMIN quickly proved himself to be a lethal fragging presence. Using agents such as Jett, Raze and the newly added Neon, he was able to lead attacks and create opportunities for his teammates. At Kickoff, he played a key role in opening duels and clutch rounds, earning him the title of Most Valuable Player in the grand final.

Throughout the season, DRX's strategy increasingly revolved around his aggressive entries and set-piece kills. Against tougher opponents, as seen at Masters Bangkok and in the Stage 2 playoffs, HYUNMIN often created early openings with his precise movement and aim. In short, HYUNMIN’s fearless style became a defining element of DRX’s identity, a young star fuelling the team’s evolution from underdogs to Champions contenders.

• ACS: 237.3

• K/D: 1.14

• DMG per Round: 154.5

• Kill per Round: 0.84