The first playoffs elimination match at VALORANT Champions 2025 left G2 Esports fans in shock as its favourite team was eliminated from the event by DRX.
In the second series of yesterday’s match-ups, VCT EMEA Stage 2 runner-up GIANTX was sent home by none other than fellow EMEA representative, Team Heretics.
How DRX Made the Impossible Possible
As the back-to-back-to-back VCT Americas champion, G2 Esports was one of the event favourites at VALORANT Champions 2025.
Yet, a questionable map veto arguably led to another unsuccessful international run for the team. Pacific’s DRX heavily punished G2 for not banning its two best maps, Abyss and Bind, making an impressive 2-1 comeback.
For the first map of the series, G2 was wise to pick Lotus, DRX’s worst map apart from its permanently banned, Sunset. Despite several short-term improvements following its previous disaster on Lotus, including better-timed Omen flashes and more efficient ultimate usage, DRX could only win seven Lotus rounds versus G2.
The Americas team, on the other hand, lost both pistol rounds and still came out on top (13-7). On the attack (8-4), G2 read many of DRX’s defence plays, while the Korean squad displayed inconsistent utility usage. In the second half, G2 had convincing Odin spams and site retakes.
Abyss saw the rise of DRX spearheaded by its in-game leader (IGL) Kim ‘MaKo’ Myeong-kwan. The Omen player helped his team make a strong start by dodging G2’s Tejo ultimate with a well-timed teleport. Meanwhile, G2 struggled against DRX’s overwhelming site executes but managed to secure four crucial rounds in the first half.
On its attack half, G2 won its first pistol round of the series. Moreover, DRX gifted G2 a Sova ultimate in the next round instead of jumping off the map. This allowed the Americas team to convert its bonus and snowball several well-defaulted attack rounds. However, DRX eventually stopped G2’s comeback attempt by quadrupling its aggression on the defence (13-10).
The saga concluded on Bind. This time playing Brimstone, MaKo seemingly locked down the B site all by himself with reinforcements from Cho ‘Flashback’ Min-hyuk on the Operator. The IGL and his team arrived well-prepared for G2’s macro gameplay on the attack side.
Thanks to G2’s past Bind game versus NRG, DRX could effortlessly see through the enemy’s early-round pressure on B-long leading into a late A-hit. MaKo also won a 1v2 clutch in the final round of the half to secure a massive 2-10 lead. Off the back of another pistol win, G2 survived a couple of rounds in the second half. But it was only a matter of time until DRX claimed the final map 13-7.
The first playoffs elimination match at VALORANT Champions 2025 left G2 Esports fans in shock as its favourite team was eliminated from the event by DRX.
In the second series of yesterday’s match-ups, VCT EMEA Stage 2 runner-up GIANTX was sent home by none other than fellow EMEA representative, Team Heretics.
How DRX Made the Impossible Possible
As the back-to-back-to-back VCT Americas champion, G2 Esports was one of the event favourites at VALORANT Champions 2025.
Yet, a questionable map veto arguably led to another unsuccessful international run for the team. Pacific’s DRX heavily punished G2 for not banning its two best maps, Abyss and Bind, making an impressive 2-1 comeback.
For the first map of the series, G2 was wise to pick Lotus, DRX’s worst map apart from its permanently banned, Sunset. Despite several short-term improvements following its previous disaster on Lotus, including better-timed Omen flashes and more efficient ultimate usage, DRX could only win seven Lotus rounds versus G2.
The Americas team, on the other hand, lost both pistol rounds and still came out on top (13-7). On the attack (8-4), G2 read many of DRX’s defence plays, while the Korean squad displayed inconsistent utility usage. In the second half, G2 had convincing Odin spams and site retakes.
Abyss saw the rise of DRX spearheaded by its in-game leader (IGL) Kim ‘MaKo’ Myeong-kwan. The Omen player helped his team make a strong start by dodging G2’s Tejo ultimate with a well-timed teleport. Meanwhile, G2 struggled against DRX’s overwhelming site executes but managed to secure four crucial rounds in the first half.
On its attack half, G2 won its first pistol round of the series. Moreover, DRX gifted G2 a Sova ultimate in the next round instead of jumping off the map. This allowed the Americas team to convert its bonus and snowball several well-defaulted attack rounds. However, DRX eventually stopped G2’s comeback attempt by quadrupling its aggression on the defence (13-10).
The saga concluded on Bind. This time playing Brimstone, MaKo seemingly locked down the B site all by himself with reinforcements from Cho ‘Flashback’ Min-hyuk on the Operator. The IGL and his team arrived well-prepared for G2’s macro gameplay on the attack side.
Thanks to G2’s past Bind game versus NRG, DRX could effortlessly see through the enemy’s early-round pressure on B-long leading into a late A-hit. MaKo also won a 1v2 clutch in the final round of the half to secure a massive 2-10 lead. Off the back of another pistol win, G2 survived a couple of rounds in the second half. But it was only a matter of time until DRX claimed the final map 13-7.