Natus Vincere vs. DRX - Valorant Champions 2023 Group Stage: Predictions, livestream details, and more

Valorant Champions 2023 has officially started, with the initial day treating fans to some highly exciting matches, courtesy of the teams in Group D. Three matches will be played today and fans can expect to see some highly exciting displays. While Group B fixtures will take most of the day, the final matchup featuring Natus Vincere and DRX from Group D will be the highlight.

Both teams were able to win their initial matchup. However, the winner of this game will advance from Group D as the first team to make it into the playoffs stage of Valorant Champions 2023.

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Natus Vincere vs DRX: Who will be the first team to advance to the Valorant Champions 2023 playoffs?

Predictions

There was a lot of skepticism surrounding Natus Vincere before the start of Valorant Champions 2023. However, the team has started on the right note with a victory against their European rivals, Team Liquid. Both maps went extremely close with the entire team contributing evenly in terms of kills.

NAVI's teamwork looks extremely good in the tournament so far. And in order to contend with DRX who look very strong in their own right, the team needs to keep up this level of play.

DRX have started off quite strongly at Valorant Champions 2023 after scoring an impressive victory against LOUD. Key players such as Rb and MaKo showed up big during their opening match at the event and the team looks rejuvenated so far with consistent firepower and innovative strategies.

Coming into this matchup against NAVI, DRX will look to maintain their consistent fragging ability and prepare well enough to thwart NAVI's unique team compositions and strategies in order to punch their ticket to the playoffs stage.

DRX are expected to be the slight favorites in this matchup as they looked more convincing in their win against LOUD. Even on the map that they lost, DRX pushed the Brazilian roster to their limits.

Natus Vincere had to dig deep in order to secure their win versus Team Liquid. However, both teams are evenly matched and the matchup could sway in favor of either team depending on who shows up during the matchday.

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Head-to-head

Natus Vincere and DRX have not faced each other before in the VCT circuit. However, the core of Natus Vincere, who previously played for FunPlus Phoenix have faced the current iteration of DRX four times where the latter prevailed with a head-to-head record of 3-1.

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Recent results

Natus Vincere's latest result at Valorant Champions 2023 was a 2-0 victory against EMEA rivals, Team Liquid.

Similarly, DRX's most recent fixture at Valorant Champions 2023 was a resounding 2-1 victory against defending champions, LOUD.

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Expected rosters:

Natus Vincere

• Kyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov (IGL)
• Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky
• Pontus "Zyppan" Eek
• Mehmet "cNed" Yağız İpek
• Dmitry "SUYGETSU" Ilyushin
• Erik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren (head coach)

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)

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Livestream details

VCT fans worldwide can watch the playoffs qualification match between Natus Vincere and DRX live on the official VCT Twitch and YouTube channels. Alternatively, watch parties hosted by streamers such as Tarik and ShahZaM are available for viewers to tune into.

• Official VCT Twitch channel: Watch here
• Official VCT YouTube channel: Watch here

The matchup will take place on August 7, 2023, at 6:00 pm PDT / 3:00 am CEST (next day) / 6:30 am IST (next day).