[VALORANT]DRX start strong in 2025 off of their two star rookies
1 Apr 2025
At the start of 2025, the DRX of old was officially gone. The team's roster included just one remaining player from the 2022 roster that was a mainstay in the top six of international tournaments.
Two of their players were rookies to tier one VALORANT in 2025, and a lot of teams in the Pacific region only grew in strength around them in prior years. That was why when DRX surprised plenty of fans and analysts alike to win the VCT 2025 Pacific Kickoff tournament, all eyes went to the two talented rookies who revitalized the team.
These two rookies are free1ng and HYUNMIN, both talented players who weren't part of the DRX organization beforehand. DRX had their fair share of talent they promoted from rosters they oversaw in the past, from former flex Foxy9 to current flex Flashback, but the team looked outward to improve within for 2025.
One of those rookies, free1ng, was a key player in the success of Dplus Esports, and after a brief stint on the Chinese team Rare Atom, he officially joined DRX at the end of 2024. That time with Dplus proved that free1ng was a talented Sentinel and likely a tier-one player in 2025. But that's not the role he has played since joining DRX, playing mostly Initiator to start his tier one career.
“Just last year on Dplus, I had little faith in the roster aside from free1ng,” Nongshim RedForce affiliate and VCT Pacific caster William "Chobra" Cho said. “He almost single-handedly brought them to the Ascension tournament, and I had zero issues with him joining tier one. I was curious how he would do as an Initiator [with DRX], since he primarily played a lurking Sentinel role before. Yet, he was very quick on rotations and adapted well to Tejo. That Initiator/Controller in the DRX system is responsible for trades, and he does that well.”
In both Kickoff and Masters Bangkok, free1ng quickly solidified himself as one of the best Tejo players in the world. When he started hot and never seemed to wane in Kickoff, it was clear it wasn't a fluke. His outstanding usage of utility combined with the calling from both coach termi and the leadership of teammate MaKo was a perfect storm, harkening back to the Vision Strikers days of immaculate set plays. Even after DRX left Bangkok with some disappointment, that hasn't shaken free1ng off his signature agent heading into Stage 1.
“My teammates all helped me get to this point, including past and current teammates, but the release of Tejo helped me evolve into a great Initiator,” free1ng said. “The recent nerfs aren't as dramatic or as crucial to his success as people think.”
That self-given ‘great Initiator' tag might be a bit of an understatement for free1ng, at least on Tejo. Of all the Initiators at Pacific Kickoff, free1ng was by far the best statistically. He ended the tournament with a 1.16 average match rating, which was fifth across all Pacific players, and ended with an average of 1.24 K:D, which was fourth. Even with DRX falling at Masters Bangkok, free1ng still ended as the second-best initiator, only behind G2 Esports' trent.
As for HYUNMIN, his role was set from the moment he joined DRX: to replace a big hole left behind in the Duelist slot by the departure of star Duelist BuZz. HYUNMIN had to quickly fit into a position BuZz had held since 2021, when the team was still Vision Strikers. But still, the new DRX roster was able to top that T1 superteam, BuZz's new team, twice at Kickoff thanks to some stellar play from their new Duelist.
“For me, I knew I had big shoes to fill with BuZz leaving,” HYUNMIN said. “Starting Kickoff, I had a lot of pressure, but going on to win Kickoff and reach Masters, it gave me and my team a lot of confidence.”
While Free1ng was playing the new agent to its best possible level, HYUNMIN was filling in by playing both Jett and Raze exactly as DRX wanted. Not only was he playing well, ending Kickoff second place in ACS at 245.4, but he ended tied first at first kills per round, at 0.22. His confidence to outshoot some of the best aimers in the world was crucial to DRX's hot start.
“HYUNMIN is a fairly selfless Duelist, just there to play whatever the team needs or wants, but that doesn't mean he won't go for those high-risk plays that Duelist players need to do,” Chobra said. “It did look bad at times for him because it wasn't the most fair situation, but it was what the team wanted and needed to succeed.”
His performance at Masters Bangkok wasn't nearly as strong as his Kickoff tournament, but DRX was still able to get their standard 5th-6th place finish. The team is now focused on Stage 1 and Masters Toronto, and they know they can't be a team that peaks early on in the year and crumbles as future events arrive.
“The teams that fall off after doing well early on have to do with mindset; [they're] teams that slack off or put in less effort after achieving success,” HYUNMIN said. “As for us, I know we're going to work harder after Kickoff and Bangkok, so we'll be ok.”
That won't be easy, especially as other Pacific teams look to take their international slot. Not only that, but the rivalry between DRX and T1 has a lot of history behind it. Former DRX players helped lead T1 to the Masters Bangkok trophy, but the rivalry of Korean organizations trying to lead VALORANT esports adds more fuel to the fire.
“T1 is the most respected and wanted esports org in Korea, while DRX hasn't built the same reputation as T1,” Chobra said. “DRX's advantage is its deep history as the top Korean VALORANT team, and the org probably knows that they have to keep up their standard to cement them as the Korean VALORANT organization. You don't get opportunities to challenge that role in Korea often, and DRX has it.”
It didn't help that T1 got their first title at Masters Bangkok while DRX has continuously struggled internationally to replicate their regional form. However, every VCT season is a marathon, not a sprint. DRX has all the pieces to perform, and HYUNMIN is confident that the power will swing right back towards DRX the next time they inevitably face T1.
“I like playing against T1, but we also know we gotta be the better team that day, and at Bangkok, it just all fell apart,” HYUNMIN said. “Overall, I think we are the better team, and we will win next time.”
At the start of 2025, the DRX of old was officially gone. The team's roster included just one remaining player from the 2022 roster that was a mainstay in the top six of international tournaments.
Two of their players were rookies to tier one VALORANT in 2025, and a lot of teams in the Pacific region only grew in strength around them in prior years. That was why when DRX surprised plenty of fans and analysts alike to win the VCT 2025 Pacific Kickoff tournament, all eyes went to the two talented rookies who revitalized the team.
These two rookies are free1ng and HYUNMIN, both talented players who weren't part of the DRX organization beforehand. DRX had their fair share of talent they promoted from rosters they oversaw in the past, from former flex Foxy9 to current flex Flashback, but the team looked outward to improve within for 2025.
One of those rookies, free1ng, was a key player in the success of Dplus Esports, and after a brief stint on the Chinese team Rare Atom, he officially joined DRX at the end of 2024. That time with Dplus proved that free1ng was a talented Sentinel and likely a tier-one player in 2025. But that's not the role he has played since joining DRX, playing mostly Initiator to start his tier one career.
“Just last year on Dplus, I had little faith in the roster aside from free1ng,” Nongshim RedForce affiliate and VCT Pacific caster William "Chobra" Cho said. “He almost single-handedly brought them to the Ascension tournament, and I had zero issues with him joining tier one. I was curious how he would do as an Initiator [with DRX], since he primarily played a lurking Sentinel role before. Yet, he was very quick on rotations and adapted well to Tejo. That Initiator/Controller in the DRX system is responsible for trades, and he does that well.”
In both Kickoff and Masters Bangkok, free1ng quickly solidified himself as one of the best Tejo players in the world. When he started hot and never seemed to wane in Kickoff, it was clear it wasn't a fluke. His outstanding usage of utility combined with the calling from both coach termi and the leadership of teammate MaKo was a perfect storm, harkening back to the Vision Strikers days of immaculate set plays. Even after DRX left Bangkok with some disappointment, that hasn't shaken free1ng off his signature agent heading into Stage 1.
“My teammates all helped me get to this point, including past and current teammates, but the release of Tejo helped me evolve into a great Initiator,” free1ng said. “The recent nerfs aren't as dramatic or as crucial to his success as people think.”
That self-given ‘great Initiator' tag might be a bit of an understatement for free1ng, at least on Tejo. Of all the Initiators at Pacific Kickoff, free1ng was by far the best statistically. He ended the tournament with a 1.16 average match rating, which was fifth across all Pacific players, and ended with an average of 1.24 K:D, which was fourth. Even with DRX falling at Masters Bangkok, free1ng still ended as the second-best initiator, only behind G2 Esports' trent.
As for HYUNMIN, his role was set from the moment he joined DRX: to replace a big hole left behind in the Duelist slot by the departure of star Duelist BuZz. HYUNMIN had to quickly fit into a position BuZz had held since 2021, when the team was still Vision Strikers. But still, the new DRX roster was able to top that T1 superteam, BuZz's new team, twice at Kickoff thanks to some stellar play from their new Duelist.
“For me, I knew I had big shoes to fill with BuZz leaving,” HYUNMIN said. “Starting Kickoff, I had a lot of pressure, but going on to win Kickoff and reach Masters, it gave me and my team a lot of confidence.”
While Free1ng was playing the new agent to its best possible level, HYUNMIN was filling in by playing both Jett and Raze exactly as DRX wanted. Not only was he playing well, ending Kickoff second place in ACS at 245.4, but he ended tied first at first kills per round, at 0.22. His confidence to outshoot some of the best aimers in the world was crucial to DRX's hot start.
“HYUNMIN is a fairly selfless Duelist, just there to play whatever the team needs or wants, but that doesn't mean he won't go for those high-risk plays that Duelist players need to do,” Chobra said. “It did look bad at times for him because it wasn't the most fair situation, but it was what the team wanted and needed to succeed.”
His performance at Masters Bangkok wasn't nearly as strong as his Kickoff tournament, but DRX was still able to get their standard 5th-6th place finish. The team is now focused on Stage 1 and Masters Toronto, and they know they can't be a team that peaks early on in the year and crumbles as future events arrive.
“The teams that fall off after doing well early on have to do with mindset; [they're] teams that slack off or put in less effort after achieving success,” HYUNMIN said. “As for us, I know we're going to work harder after Kickoff and Bangkok, so we'll be ok.”
That won't be easy, especially as other Pacific teams look to take their international slot. Not only that, but the rivalry between DRX and T1 has a lot of history behind it. Former DRX players helped lead T1 to the Masters Bangkok trophy, but the rivalry of Korean organizations trying to lead VALORANT esports adds more fuel to the fire.
“T1 is the most respected and wanted esports org in Korea, while DRX hasn't built the same reputation as T1,” Chobra said. “DRX's advantage is its deep history as the top Korean VALORANT team, and the org probably knows that they have to keep up their standard to cement them as the Korean VALORANT organization. You don't get opportunities to challenge that role in Korea often, and DRX has it.”
It didn't help that T1 got their first title at Masters Bangkok while DRX has continuously struggled internationally to replicate their regional form. However, every VCT season is a marathon, not a sprint. DRX has all the pieces to perform, and HYUNMIN is confident that the power will swing right back towards DRX the next time they inevitably face T1.
“I like playing against T1, but we also know we gotta be the better team that day, and at Bangkok, it just all fell apart,” HYUNMIN said. “Overall, I think we are the better team, and we will win next time.”