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DRX's presence at Valorant Champions 2023 will mark the sixth time the Korean giants have made it to an international VCT tournament. Previously known as Vision Strikers, the team has been a constant presence at the top in the Pacific region, with very few teams in the world matching their longevity and success.
Heading into the biggest VCT tournament of the year, DRX will look to bounce back from a recent dip in form and put the Pacific region on the roadmap.
DRX's stax talks about facing LOUD at Valorant Champions 2023 and the team's morale heading into the matchup
Ahead of Valorant Champions 2023, DRX's in-game leader Kim "stax" Gu-taek, attended the pre-tournament press conference to answer various questions.
In a reply to a question from Sportskeeda Esports, stax talked about the team's expectations heading into their first matchup against former world champions, LOUD. The Brazilian contenders had previously knocked them out at VCT LOCK//IN earlier this year. stax said:
"I think we lost in those important moments because LOUD is a really strong team."
LOUD has been a force to be reckoned with ever since its debut in the VCT circuit. The team triumphed at the previous edition of Valorant Champions. The Brazilian roster also has a bit of a rivalry with DRX as they have won against the Korean side twice in highly important games at Champions 2022 and VCT LOCK//IN.
stax further added:
"We don't really have added pressure because of our history against LOUD. I just think they are a really strong team and we will treat them as one too. "
LOUD, similar to DRX, has had a recent blip in the radar in terms of performance. Despite coming into the VCT Masters Tokyo 2023 as the winners of VCT Americas, the team crashed out of the tournament without winning a single map. Regardless, they are a team to be respected and feared, as evidenced by the words of DRX's captain.
Fans of DRX and LOUD can watch them face off in the second game of the opening day of Valorant Champions 2023. Interested viewers can watch the game live on the official VCT Twitch and YouTube channels.
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).
