A rematch of last year's VCT Champs upper bracket semifinal is now confirmed.
Last night's quarterfinals saw the end of the alpha bracket, which now features reigning champions LOUD as well as Korean kings, DRX as the first two semi-finalists for the VCT LOCK//IN. This will be the exact rematch from the VCT Champions 2022, which saw LOUD take out DRX in a clean 2-0 sweep.
Both teams have had a great run in the tournament so far. Hometown heroes LOUD have been a force to be reckoned with in front of the live audience, sending home Gen.G Esports and Karmine Corp in two maps each. The classic SA vs NA match-up with NRG was the first time LOUD had actually to dig deep to find the win.
In their first two series before the quarterfinal bout, Pearl was the common map in which LOUD had plenty of success. Their 2-1 win against NRG was their first time dropping a map, which ironically enough, was also Pearl.
DRX, on the other hand, have had to play all three maps in all three of their games so far against BBL Esports, Cloud9, and most recently, Talon Esports. All three series were great match-ups for DRX, who showcased their quality on maps like Haven and Icebox. In a match-up between two Asian titans, it was DRX who stood tall at the end of it all. Despite all that, Talon has proven to be a top team after winning their previous two series in 2-0 sweeps.
Above all else, DRX has also proven to be the region's top team at the moment. A top-six finish at both the Stage 1 and 2 Masters in Reykjavík and Copenhagen as well as a top-three spot at last year's VCT Champions shows that DRX does have what it takes to run with the best in the business.
This comes despite losing to LOUD during the upper bracket semifinals. DRX almost managed a fairytale run for the organisation with the squad breezing past Fnatic and FunPlus Phoenix on their road to the lower bracket finals against the now-defunct OpTic Gaming. What could have been a night to remember turned into a night to forget for the Koreans, who almost reverse-swept OpTic before the latter came up clutch with three key rounds in game five.
This rematch could prove to be a pivotal point for both teams; LOUD are the reigning champions and have been in commanding form as of late. But DRX is no pushover, being only one of two Korean-partnered teams left in the tournament. Can LOUD take out yet another Korean team or will DRX make amends for last year's Champs upper bracket semifinal defeat?
LOUD versus DRX will occur on Friday, March 3 at 1.00 am GMT +8 on the official VALORANT Twitch channel.
