In the first lower bracket match of the Valorant Champions playoffs, DRX DRX Korea Rank #1 Flicker Kim Tae-hee (김태희) Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) upset the three time Americas champions G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #3 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf in a 2-1 victory.

Despite both teams being international mainstays for several years, this was their first time ever coming face to face. Coming into Champions, both have come up with their own unique philosophy for agent compositions that they apply near universally across maps. For DRX, they have heavily leaned into double duelists with HYUNMIN playing Waylay and Flashback playing Yoru. G2 on the other hand, are leaning into Tejo, despite the heavy nerfs, and had trent playing the agent on all three maps today.

In the end, it was DRX's theory that prevailed today, though it was no easy feat. G2 was the first to strike on Lotus, winning the map in a dominant 13-7 fashion. jawgemo was running laps around DRX as he racked up 28 kills on the map.

jawgemo's moving like a gymnast, picking off three with ease.

HYUNMIN had a particularly quiet Lotus, but quickly remedied that during the next map of Abyss. He led the charge for DRX, helping his team quickly get up to an 8-1 lead on their attack, looking to make a statement on their map pick. However, G2 held strong and fought back. They won nine straight rounds to take the lead for their own. The Tejo theory showed its prowess as G2 abused their non-stop postplant utility to easily deny defuses.

Constant defuse denial gives valyn an easy 1v3.

DRX were determined to not let the map slip out of their hands, and finally put an end to G2's streak. That one round was all it took, as they began a streak of their own, and quickly ended the map with five rounds in a row for a 13-10 win. HYUNMIN ended the game with 30 kills, showing his prowess on Waylay.

This left the final map of Bind to decide who would go forth in the bracket. However, it quickly became clear that that team would be DRX. They showcased a completely impregnable defense, headed by Flashback's Operator play on top of a great performance by IGL MaKo . By halftime, DRX had taken a 10-2 lead.

MaKo closes out the half with a 1v2 clutch.

Learning from their mistakes from their match against FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Alfajer Emir Ali Beder , where they completely squandered a 10-2 lead, DRX managed to close out this one, winning the map 13-7 to send G2 packing.

After a year of regional dominance, G2 Esports has once again come up short on the international stage. Repeating their performance from last year, the first round playoff exit comes as a disappointment to the team whose sights are dead set on lifting a trophy. With their season now over, G2 will have to wait for 2026 to continue their hunt for a title.

With the win, DRX has secured a top six finish for the fourth Champions in a row. The perennial 5th-6th placing team is now poised to add another one to the books, unless they can overcome the loser of MIBR vs. NRG, who they will face in two days.

“I'm not actually thinking that far up ahead… I will tackle all the things that come in my way one by one,” said MaKo during the post-match press conference.