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The Valorant Champions 2023 event starts today with 16 teams across the world participating in the most prestigious VCT event of the year. Teams from the EMEA, Americas, Pacific, and China regions will participate in this tournament and fans are guaranteed to see a plethora of highlight moments and star players popping off.
Two powerhouse teams of their respective regions, DRX and LOUD will grace the stage for the second matchup of the day. Both teams find themselves in a recent slump and will be looking to start off Valorant Champions 2023 on the right track.
DRX vs LOUD: Who will win this Valorant Champions 2023 matchup?
Predictions
DRX started off strong in the 2023 VCT season after integrating rookie Foxy9 into the main roster. However, the team's form started to deteriorate from the VCT Pacific playoffs, where they were reverse-swept by Paper Rex in the Grand Finals. Many fans still had high hopes for DRX coming into VCT Masters Tokyo 2023.
They looked very disjointed and relied purely on mechanical skill to win against opponents. This only got them so far as they were quickly eliminated in the playoffs stage after a shaky performance in the group stages. Heading into Valorant Champions 2023, DRX will look to revamp their strategies and be a fearful opponent for any team once again.
LOUD, much like DRX, started their 2023 Valorant campaign off strong. They were the runner-ups at VCT LOCK//IN and won the VCT Americas 2023 title as well. However, their performance at Masters Tokyo 2023 has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many fans.
The team looked completely out of the game and did not win a single map, as they were swiftly eliminated from the competition. This came as a big shock for viewers, as many expected them to be title favorites before the tournament began. With internal rumors surrounding aspas and the rest of the team, the spirits in the LOUD camp are not the best at the moment.
However, LOUD is still the home of absolutely world-class talent. The team is also the defending Valorant Champions and have all the tools necessary to turn around this recent slump.
Coming into this matchup, LOUD are expected to be the favorite when comparing raw talent and firepower. However, if LOUD does not manage to fix their underlying issues, DRX will have an easy path ahead of them.
Head-to-head
DRX and LOUD have met each other twice in the VCT circuit. The head-to-head record between these teams stands at 2-0 in favor of the latter.
Recent results
DRX's latest result was a 0-2 loss against NRG Esports at VCT Masters Tokyo 2023.
Similarly, LOUD's most recent game was a 0-2 loss against EDward Gaming at VCT Masters Tokyo 2023.
Expected rosters
DRX
- Kim "stax" Gu-taek (IGL)
- Goo "Rb" Sang-min
- Yu "BuZz" Byung-chul
- Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan
- Jung "Foxy9" Jae-sung
- Kim "Zest" Gi-seok (substitute)
- Pyeon "termi" Seon-ho (head coach)
LOUD
- Erick "aspas" Santos
- Felipe "Less" Basso
- Matias "saadhak" Delipetro (IGL)
- Cauan "cauanzin" Pereira
- Arthur "tuyz" Vieira
- Daniel "fRoD" Montaner (head coach)
When and where to watch
VCT fans worldwide can watch the Valorant Champions 2023 Group Stage match featuring DRX and LOUD live on the official VCT Twitch and YouTube channels. Linking accounts with Riot Games' will also allow users to get cool rewards.
The matchup will take place on August 6, 2023, at 3:00 PM PDT / 12:00 AM CEST (next day) / 3:30 AM IST (next day).
