An Upset in the making: EG upset DRX at VCT Masters Tokyo Day 2
The first day of VCT Masters Tokyo concluded yesterday with DRX and EG from Group B securing their first wins to secure the Winner's game. In the press conference following the DRX win, Strafe asked DRX coach Termi about his thoughts on the opponents for playoffs.
Q. You'd be facing Evil Geniuses next. What are your thoughts on the team, and what would be the focus for the team before going into the next game?
DRX Termi: "Well, I know evil genius has performed very well in the Americas, especially demon1. We're keeping our eyes on him as well. So we're going to come up with some plans to shut him down and make sure we get the win, and I think Potter is a really talented coach. So there's a great synergy between the teammates on EG, so we'll do our best to prepare for the next upcoming match and also make sure that we come out on top."
The Winner to playoffs - DRX vs. Evil Geniuses:
DRX was the favorite to win the series. Hailed as one of the strongest teams in all of VCT. DRX played with the rookie foxy9 against Evil Geniuses. The game started on Fracture. DRX brought out the Fracture composition against EG. Despite the attack attempts, DRX lost a lot of rounds on offense to go 4-8 in the first half. EG used the momentum from the first half to secure a strong 13-5 win over DRX.
After the game, Upon being asked about playing Raze composition instead of Neon, DRX commented on the counterablity of the latter, making them choose the Raze comp.
Q. Is there a reason DRX steered away from the Neon composition?
DRX Stax: "It seems people figured out how to counter that, so we're not running it at the moment."
On the second map, Ascent, DRX looked much more in control, but EG was better. EG won four pistols and three bonus rounds to get in a strong position. The strong start for EG in all halves helped them secure the second map 13-9 and the VCT Masters Tokyo playoffs.
While Ascent is definitely a strong map for DRX, playing Haven statistically made more sense for DRX. Strafe asked about the map choice, Termi explained:
Q. What was the reason behind choosing Ascent over Haven? Especially since EG's Haven isn't the best?
DRX Termi: "I didn't think there was a huge gap between how strong their Ascent or Haven was, so we just went with a map we're more confident in, which was Ascent."
Evil Geniuses - The Underdogs:
While DRX definitely made mistakes, EG was a better team today. After getting a shaky start at the start of VCT Americas, EG changed the roster and made an amazing season comeback. After their weak start to the season, everyone considered EG as one of the weakest NA teams. But they came back to secure playoffs. EG started their upset run at the playoffs, defeating Cloud9 to secure Masters Tokyo.
In their first game against FUT, EG was once again the underdog, and they once again delivered an upset to secure a game against DRX. We know how the game went, and EG secured playoffs over one of the best teams in Valorant. A big part of EG's success comes from the coaching of EG's Head Coach, Christine "Potter" Chi. Especially in both the Tokyo games, EG completely counter-strated their opponents. Kudos to all the players of EG who did justice to all the strats by their coach. The team's IGL Boostio was one of the front runners for the team.
The comeback and qualification are so much sweeter for EG as they were scrutinized heavily mid-season, especially coach Potter for her abilities to lead a team. After defeating DRX today, EG proved everyone wrong and flipped the script on everyone. After the win, Potter was asked to comment on the win, the team's performance, and the criticism.
Q. First of all, congratulations on your playoff qualification. A big part of EG's Success comes from amazing anti-strating from you and your timeouts. The players are definitely a big part, but you are as integral as anyone. What would you like to say to all the people who doubted you Mid-season?
EG Potter: "What would I like to say? I would like to say that on Ascent, the triple initiator coming out from Drx last year, we did that first. I don't care what anyone says. But yeah, I, I don't have anything to say. We, we, We're just. We're working hard. We're keeping our heads down, and we're focused on ourselves. So yeah, no distractions."
EG will now play directly in the playoffs after four days. DRX will play the winners of ASE and FUT on the 14th. It will be their last chance to qualify for the VCT Masters Tokyo playoffs and stand a chance to avenge their loss. You can follow the VCT Twitter for all the updates regarding VCT Masters Tokyo.
Credits: Riot Games // Valorant Champions Tour
You can also follow VCT Masters Tokyo on Strafe.