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Valorant Champions 2023 is a treat that keeps giving. Every single day is a new adventure as teams keep raising the bar. 16 teams came into the competition, but only six remain on Day 13. These teams are still in contention to become the world champions for 2023 and take home the winner's share of the $2,250,000 prize pool.
Day 13 of Valorant Champions 2023 will host two lower-bracket matches, the last ones to be held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The second match of the day is between EMEA's last hope, EMEA, and Korean giants, DRX. Here is everything you need to know going into the match.
DRX vs Fnatic - Who will win this lower-bracket brawl at Valorant Champions 2023
Prediction
Fnatic was one of the favorites to win their tournament after their near-flawless run through VCT 2023. The match against LOUD, however, showed that the team still has weaknesses that can be exploited.
Fnatic bounced back against FUT Esports, but the fact remains that the team has only won against the relatively weaker teams (ZETA DIVISION, Bilibili Gaming, and FUT Esports) at Valorant Champions 2023.
DRX looked strong against LOUD, NAVI, and Bilibili but was dominated by Evil Geniuses. The team's fundamentals look on point, but they still seem to struggle against chaotic teams.
Considering how disciplined Fnatic is, DRX should perform well against them on paper. At this stage of Valorant Champions 2023, all teams are evenly matched. It comes down to how well each player on the team is playing on the day.
One of Fnatic's biggest win conditions will be how well Boaster shoots on the day. Although he has had some excellent performances recently, mechanically, he is still the weakest link on the team. The match-up between him and Stax, his counterpart on DRX, will be one to look out for.
As long as the other members of Fnatic are able to hold their own, the way Alfajer has been playing at Valorant Champions 2023 so far should take the team over the line unless DRX is able to pull off something to throw the Fnatic fundamentals off.
Head-to-head
Fnatic and DRX have faced each other only at the Champions stage before this. In Berlin in 2021, Fnatic defeated DRX in the Group Stage, but the latter knocked out the former in Istanbul in 2022.
Recent results
DRX lost their first match at Valorant Champions 2023 against Evil Geniuses yesterday. Before that, they defeated the likes of LOUD, NAVI, and Bilibili Gaming in the tournament.
Fnatic had a strong start to the tournament, winning both their matches in the group stage. However, they faltered against LOUD at the start of the playoffs. This was only the second series they lost in 2023, and the European powerhouse looked back in form against FUT Esports in their lower-bracket brawl.
Potential lineups
DRX
- Kim “stax” Gu-taek (IGL)
- Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul
- Goo “Rb” Sang-Min
- Kim “MaKo” Myeong-gwan
- Kim “Zest” Ki-seok
- Pyeon "Termi" Seon-ho (Head coach)
Fnatic
- Jake "Boaster" Howlett (IGL)
- Leo "Leo" Jannesson
- Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev
- Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov
- Emir "Alfajer" Ali Beder
- Jacob "Mini" Harris (Head Coach)
Livestream details
Interested readers can catch the English broadcast of Valorant Champions 2023 on the main channel of Valorant Esports on Twitch or YouTube. There will also be streams in regional languages on the respective VCT channels.
Many players and streamers, such as Tarik, will be hosting watch parties during the match. Fans who prefer additional commentary and banter may tune into those.
DRX play against Fnatic on August 20, 2023, at 3 pm PT / 12 am CEST (next day) / 3:30 am IST (next day) / 7 am JST (next day).
