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VCT 2023 concluded with one of its most significant events, i.e., LOCK//IN. The tournament saw all thirty franchised teams plus two Chinese teams go head-to-head in a single elimination bracket to win it all. Eventually, EMEA's Fnatic beat the home team LOUD 3-2 in the Grand Finals and got themselves a trophy for the first time.
As we move forward, VCT will be played out in three different leagues in the region by all the franchised teams. The VCT Pacific League will see its ten teams battle it in a Seoul, South Korea group.
The top six teams will then make it to the next stage of the Playoffs, wherein the top three will make it to Masters Tokyo. Pacific has delivered some great teams, and the League looks no different. Below is a list of five such teams for which viewers need to look out in the VCT Pacific League, and these five could also very well be the contenders for the mega-event at Masters Tokyo.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
ZETA Division and 4 more teams to keep an eye on at VCT Pacific League
1) DRX
DRX is an esports team from South Korea. The team has seen a rather fruitful journey in Valorant esports. In the early stages of VCT as Vision Strikers (former name), the team could dominate regionally without any trouble. They quickly started getting recognition worldwide as well.
Unfortunately, DRX couldn't perform their best and would get placed in the 5th or 6th position. It wasn't until Valorant Champions 2022, Istanbul, that the team broke that curse and placed 3rd in the event. As the team headed into 2023, they made no changes to their roster, except for the addition of the 6th player, Foxy9.
DRX also had a fantastic showing at LOCK//IN, where they made it to the Playoffs and finished in the 3rd or 4th position. They gave LOUD a tough time but unfortunately lost 2-3 in the BO5 (Best of Five) series. DRX is easily the top team in the Pacific right now.
2) Talon Esports
Talon Esports comes from Thailand. The org itself entered Valorant in 2022. However, the team has been reasonably successful under different banners. Talon's team is the former X10/XERXIA core which created waves in the previous years by defeating some of the top teams on the international stages.
For 2023, the team got retired pro-Patiphan back in the squad and the rookies, garnetS, and JitBoyS. This Thai team also had a decent showing at LOCK//IN as they could win the first series flawlessly by a 2-0 but finally lost to the fellow Pacific team, DRX.
Talon Esports has incredible players, which makes them a squad to be feared. Their team was able to prove their caliber in LOCK//IN and could very well do the same in the Pacific League.
3) Paper Rex
Paper Rex is the esports team from Singapore. It is also among the most popular teams in the Valorant esports scene. Paper Rex has had a journey of growth in VCT.
In VCT 2021, Paper Rex was only able to qualify for one international event where they had an underwhelming performance. 2022 was different, however, as they made it to every international event and even placed 2nd in VCT Stage 2: Masters Copenhagen.
As of 2023, the team made no changes to the roster except for adding the 6th player, CigaretteS. However, despite their brilliant performances, the team failed to get off to a good start in 2023 as they were eliminated in their first match of LOCK//IN by Cloud9. Paper Rex is a team with great potential and is easily one of the favorites in this Pacific League.
4) Team Secret
Team Secret hails from the Philippines. For a while, the team has remained one of the top teams in the VCT APAC (Asia-Pacific) region.
Team Secret has had only one international appearance during Valorant Champions 2021. They finished in 5th-8th place in the tournament and had a decent showing. However, the same couldn't be said for 2022.
At LOCK//IN, Team Secret exceeded everyone's expectations, dominating the newly rebuilt Team Liquid by a 2-0. They finished in 9th-16th place overall in the event. Team Secret has surprised everyone with their performance at LOCK//IN, so more can be expected from them in the Pacific League.
5) ZETA DIVISION
ZETA DIVISION comes from Japan. The team has seemingly had a difficult journey in the entirety of VCT.
ZETA's most successful run was perhaps in 2022 during VCT Stage 1: Masters Reykjavik, where they ended up finishing 3rd place with one of the most incredible lower bracket runs. For 2023, ZETA DIVISION has made no changes to their roster except for including the 6th player, barce.
Unfortunately, ZETA DIVISION did not have a great showing at LOCK//IN as they got eliminated in their first match 0-2 by Leviatán. ZETA is a team that can turn up when least expected, and they might do that in this Pacific League.
