DRX And Zest Mutually Part Ways

South Korea’s powerhouse Valorant team, DRX, has started the new year with a massive change. They have released their long-time player and former in-game leader, Kim “Zest” Gi-seok.

Zest played for DRX for a little over two years but has played with the DRX core in Vision Strikes since 2020. 

The Korean squad was a title contender throughout 2022 but had a drought of results the following year. Though they weren’t at all considered a “bad” team, expectations of the roster began to rise with their success, and they just couldn’t seem to meet those expectations anymore.

It was evident that DRX needed change if they wanted to return to their past form, and unfortunately, Zest was the player caught in the crossfire. The 23-year-old will make space for Cho “Flashback” Min-hyuk, an 18-year-old talent. 

Through mutual agreement, @Zestvlrt‘s contract with DRX has been terminated and is now available as a free agent.

To our founding member who gave it his all every day, we thank you sincerely for everything Zest.

📺 https://t.co/fNBhOmRgJk#EnjoyChallenge pic.twitter.com/JOWJwkRUX2

— DRX VS (@DRX_VS) January 15, 2024

Overall, Zest had a successful career in DRX. Let’s review his achievements with the team and his individual level throughout his time with the core. 

Zest’s Tournament Achievements

Zest and the Vision Strikers core made waves in the Korean scene from late 2020 to early 2021, winning the A.W EXTREME MASTERS ASIA Invitational, followed by First Strike Korea and VCT 2021: Korea Stage 1 Masters. The players were quickly recognized, and DRX acquired the Vision Strikers squad. 

DRX’s best year was undoubtedly 2022. The young squad made their international debut in VCT 2022 Masters Reykjavik, where they finished a respectable 5-6th place; not bad for their first S-Tier event, as they at least displayed promising potential.

DRX continued to improve, and their hard work was proven at Valorant Champions 2022, where they made an incredibly deep run but fell short 2-3 against OpTic Gaming in the Lower Bracket Final, which placed them third.

Zest’s final S-Tier tournament with DRX was in Valorant Champions 2023, where they were handed a loss by Fnatic, who was considered the best team in the world at the time, in the Lower Bracket. This crushing loss forced the South Korean roster to pack their bags at 5-6th place.

After last year’s Champions tournament, DRX looked very shaky in A-Tier events and clearly was not in the form to compete with the world’s best anymore. As a result, change was inevitable, and Zest and the organization agreed to terminate his contract.

Individual Level Of Play

Despite taking on the responsibilities of the in-game leader, Zest still showed remarkable levels of individual skill. He received two awards from VALO2ASIA:

• 12th Best Asian Player of 2022
• 17th Best Asian Player of 2023

Where Zest is headed next is still unknown. He could continue playing for Korean teams as he had throughout his entire Valorant career, or he can seek international opportunities as, no doubt, teams worldwide would kill to have their hands on a player like himself.