It's only going to get LOUD-er from here.
LOUD and DRX have been billed as a highly-anticipated rematch and have lived up to the excitement with the best-of-five semifinal series going to all five games. With both teams being the last to represent their respective regions, it was LOUD who prevailed at the end by dodging DRX's close reverse sweep to send the Pacific's representative back home.
With DRX now eliminated, there leaves only three teams left to fight for an extra slot at Masters: Tokyo later this year. It will be an all-EMEA series later with both Fnatic and Natus Vincere going up against one another in the other semifinal match. LOUD will be waiting for the winner of the series in the grand finals.
Pearl was the first map of the series in which both teams also have a 2-1 record at the VCT LOCK//IN. LOUD only lost once on Pearl against NRG while DRX also lost in Pearl against Cloud9. Both teams also had the same team composition, which made for an even greater viewing for fans in attendance and at home alike. But despite winning three rounds in a row, it wasn't enough for DRX as LOUD managed to silence any comeback opportunities in the first match.
Game two took us to Icebox, a map that DRX was 2-0 on in the tournament, which shows that they meant business. However, that wasn't necessarily the case as LOUD picked up eight straight rounds in a row, which was an uphill task for the Korean powerhouse to catch up. Even after taking five rounds after the break, LOUD still managed to make it to match-point.
However, it was in games three and four that turned the series onto its head. With LOUD heading into the third match with a 2-0 lead in the series, DRX picked Split as its third map, knowing full well that LOUD has also not lost on it. And this time, it was DRX who came out on top by winning eight rounds in a row to secure a healthy lead into the break, which both teams ended up winning four apiece to give DRX their first map win of the series.
Map four was on Fracture and it was evenly split right down the middle with both teams not giving an inch in the fourth game. It ended 6-6 by the end of the half with both teams trading blows constantly. But in the second half, DRX proved why they deserved to be in the top four as they kept LOUD quiet with only one map win to send it to the fifth and final map.
Taking things to Ascent, it was LOUD's first time on the map for the tournament while DRX were already 1-1 heading into the series. It was a tightly-contested affair with neither team willing to budge in their quest for glory. The first half ended 7-5 in favour of LOUD but DRX was not going to give up that easily, fighting back after every map to try and claw themselves back. Sadly, it still wasn't enough for the Pacific's representative as they eventually fell to LOUD 6-3 in the second half of the final map.
That win puts LOUD in the grand finals, making them only the second team in VCT history to defend its title in a grand final. LOUD now gets an additional day's break and will get to see who meets them in the finals between NAVI and Fnatic. The grand finals will take place on March 5, 1.00 am GMT+8.
