its just "trustmebro"

source?

NS is going to destroy everyone bro why are you acting like it's even going to be competitive lol

stax and buzz should be getting released soon too, otherwise none of this makes sense

arnold is gonna fuck it up as usual

true

i love hyunmin but saying he’s an upgrade over something is a pretty bold statement

the masters mvp getting dropped is crazy

i think cutting partnered teams from 12 to 8 just means all the good players will end up on those 8 teams
then the same few teams will dominate everything

an underdog run? they’ll just get poached by better orgs, and it’s obviously gonna be a partnered team 💀

nah were clearing korean qualifiers with this roster easily. no korean team can compete with this

HYUNMIN - main duelist
Xross - initiator
MaKo - smokes, IGL
francis - second duelist, flex, can also IGL
ivy - sentinel, viper

IT WOULD BE PERFECT IF THEY MERGED

they have tons of viewers so i get it, im not gonna complain about it even tho im sad

Masters Seoul YESSSS

i totally agree with you, but my point was that Riot constantly changing the competitive landscape around every event is the problem. having so many different winners is one thing, but using that outcome to justify how Riot keeps shifting the meta is another.

imagine the season has already started, and then a patch makes double controller the dominant meta, but your team only has one player who normally plays controller. the same thing applies to when double duelist first became meta or when double initiator did. you can't just rebuild your roster overnight, so from a team's perspective, it's hard not to see that as unfair.

just because the result has been a diverse set of winners doesn't necessarily mean the way we got there is good for the esport in the long run. but if you believe that having a wider variety of winners is ultimately good for valorant's viewership, then i don't really have much else to say.

why couldn't other teams play neon and yoru as well as NS did when they won? that's exactly my point. the teams that figure out the right comp for a particular patch are more likely to win, but a lot of it also comes down to whether you already have players who can play those agents at a high level at the right time. that's the element of luck im talking about.

yeah i get that, and i agree that adapting to new metas is part of being a great team. i just think there's a difference between keeping the game fresh and changing things so much that the competitive hierarchy gets reset every few months lmao. there's gotta be a middle ground.

im not saying NS didn't benefit from a broken meta or that Riot shouldn't have nerfed those agents. you're arguing whether NS deserved the nerfs, but that's not my point.

my point is that mid-season patches can completely change the competitive landscape and give some teams a massive advantage over others. NS being the biggest beneficiary this time doesn't change that.

that's my point right there. it's crazy how much of an advantage teams can get from Riot's patches mid-season.

im not trying to say NS has to dominate this year. it just feels like a lot of it comes down to luck because of these patches.

NS got nerfed by Riot, and it's hard not to feel like Riot doesn't want any team to dominate for too long.
the constant changes to the meta make it increasingly difficult for teams to maintain their dominance across multiple seasons.
(im not saying these nerfs are necessarily bad. i hated pre-nerf neon and judge too.)

but teams spend years building their rosters, refining their playstyles, and developing their own strengths, only for Riot to shift the meta and force them to adapt all over again.
having to rebuild your approach to the game within the same year is crazy.

major changes to the map pool and weapon balance in the middle of a competitive season(unlike in many other esports)
can create the perception that Riot is indirectly targeting certain teams.
teams can't completely overhaul their playstyles overnight, and these changes can give some teams a significant advantage while putting others at a disadvantage.
(im not arguing whether NS deserved those nerfs or not. that's beside the point.)

at this rate, we'll probably never see back-to-back winners, cuz Riot seems to believe that constantly shifting the meta is better for viewership than allowing teams to maintain long-term dominance.

and istg this year's Champs winner won't do shit at the next Masters unless they have players who fit the meta Riot introduces next year.
at that point, success starts to feel like a matter of luck, cuz no one knows what the next meta will look like or which teams it'll favor.

i feel bad for LEV too. they genuinely looked like the best team in the world at one point, only to find themselves having to start over again shortly after finally lifting a trophy.
and this cycle of winning an event, only to struggle to maintain that level of dominance under a new meta, has been repeating itself for years.

most of you guys will obviously call this copium and argue that none of this matters cuz Champs is the most important tournament of the year.
and fair enough, im not disputing the importance of Champs or the legitimacy of winning it.

but do you really think the teams performing well at Champs right now deliberately sacrificed their chances at every Masters just to peak at Champs?

the point is that teams who adapt to the current patch faster and figure out the strongest compositions before everyone else are naturally going to have an advantage at events.
that doesn't necessarily mean they're the best team in the world overall. it just means they're the best team under the conditions of that particular patch.

and when those conditions can change so drastically from one event to the next, long-term dominance becomes much harder to achieve. eventually, it starts to feel like maintaining your position at the top depends just as much on whether the next patch favors your roster as it does on your ability to compete.

might happen if they somehow fix their lotus or summit

CMON

they have no choice, cuz they suck at lotus too

he is him

wait, i don't get it, is winter not allowed to play in the qualifiers?

i personally hope they get winter, XuNa, and Ray rather than promoting someone from the current academy roster
cuz i don't see any promising talents yet like what termi sees in XoNs. he might be the future of DRX but i don't think he's for our big 2027.

what's most surprising is that they decided to take the site first without the KJ ult even tho they couldve lost the duels
that was such calm decision making from them ngl

i would say PKM

the most underrated korean tier2 player of all time

technically, it's on termi and the org too, cuz Flashback had done that before and had mental issues. but let's be honest, termi had no choice. Flashback has so much talent, and they've been together for so long. i swear to god, if i were him, i'd make the same choice cuz people deserve second chances despite their mistakes. it is what it is, we need to move on.

yeah honestly im more excited for upcoming transfer market than this champs since im a DRX fan, lets see what happens

they are legends why not

of course we're coping at this point guys why not lol don't be ashamed

NS have to beat 100T first to face the loser of NRG/LOUD. i don't think they're gonna make it if i'm totally honest.

and i love stax and BuZz, but we all know Munchkin is already tilted, so i can't see them beating PRX at this point.

then PRX face the loser of G2/VIT, which i'm pretty sure is doable.

and once they win 2 games in a row and start feelin' it, a miracle run might happen.

that's the only scenario i can see at this point no?

agreed but still

I don't think we're bombing out in lowers cuz none of them looked that bad. All of those were pretty close games, so we still have a shot despite only one team being able to make a run.

i mean that’s gonna be one of the most iconic KJ ults ever

holy fuck

termi also said they're one of the few profitable teams

yeah he said that right after the loss, so his confidence might've been a bit shaken. It's a post-game interview tho, so who knows.

you cant take my goat from DRX tf are u on

yeah he's been grinding with DRX Academy recently but XuNa is the best option for initiator

GEN ain't gonna spend enough on Ray we all know it

I love him but man i just don't think he's enough for this team...

thats true tho

you mean XoNs right

Foxy9 said on stream yesterday that the team is going to blow up

Although the players still have the following years remaining on their contracts:

yong — 2029
MaKo — 2028
HYUNMIN — 2028
Flicker — 2028
BeYN — 2027
free1ng — 2027

But now that termi confirmed DRX have been paying the highest payroll in the scene,
and if they can afford to keep it up next year, let me cook with their roster.

yong — I'm sorry but you can go RFA.
MaKo — We keep this man cuz he's the main guy with tons of experience.
HYUNMIN — Literal aimbot, we need him. And he's a vibe guy, so let's keep him.
Flicker — RFA.
BeYN — He's been IGLing and dude is a vibe guy, but HYUNMIN also brings the vibes and MaKo can IGL, so RFA.
free1ng — He's too inconsistent. We don't want to roll the dice every time we play, so RFA.

Then we have MaKo and HYUNMIN, and I suggest 3 upcoming young demons for the roster:

winter — Ranked demon, recently grinding sentinel.
XuNa — Best option for initiator since iZu and Xross are likely staying with their teams.
Ray — Flex. Can play second smokes when we need it, and he's also a decent duelist.

Final suggestion:

HYUNMIN — Duelist
XuNa — Initiator
MaKo — Smokes
Ray — Flex
winter — Sentinel

We're going international at least with this roster in 2027.

at this point, yeah, they deserve at least one trophy. after all the years they've been through as top contenders, if they finally go all the way and win this champs trophy, hell yeah, I'd honestly be happy for them.

you know what, stats really don't matter. if your team has a +23 player on the match, you're gonna have a -14 ish player on the same team unless its a 13-1 13-5 stomp.

all you need is to win as a team, and If you're doing well this year, no need to change shit.

theyre doing crazy good this year and if you are not even a fan of theirs but still saying they should replace a specific player,

you are just a baseless hater ngl

im 100% sure its gonna be PRX vs NS

but I swear to god having two ascension grand finals decide your entire next year would be insane pressure if we talking about nerve-handling skills on LAN