PRX, DRX top threats for VCT Pacific teams

Majority of teams in the VCT Pacific League are eyeing two key teams in the second iteration of the league: Singapore-based team Paper Rex (PRX) and all-Korean stars DRX. 

Speaking at a press conference in Seoul, members of almost all teams agreed that the two RXes in the current league are quite the force to be reckoned with – and for good reason.

Cahya “Monyet” Nugraha, PRX’s representative in the presser, spoke highly about DRX, and remarked that the team is looking at DRX as their toughest competitors.

“I’ll say it’s still gonna be DRX. I think it will be like, the best competitor in Pacific this year. I mean, all the teams is very good, though, this year, like it’s gonna be a very tough year. But we’ll see during the tournament,” Monyet said.

Monyet is one of the newer additions to the team, who were champions in the inaugural VCT Pacific season, and eventually became the runners-up of the 2023 Valorant Champions in Los Angeles.

Benedict “Benkai” Tan Tze Yang, a former PRX player who now plays for India-based organization Global Esports, spoke highly of his former employer and told the press that PRX is still the team to beat, as well as DRX.

“I definitely still think Paper Rex and DRX also. Yeah, if I mean, especially with roster changes that DRX went through recently, like if they’re able to build on top of what they’ve already built, I think they’re going to be even stronger than last year,” Benkai said.

Ham “iZu” Woo-joo, who plays for another Korean pro team, T1, said, “Well, I would say Paper Rex. I mean, they did not have a lot of roster changes. They kept most of their core members, and also they place second they were the runner ups and the champions.”

“I would say, Paper Rex, but it really depends on whether or not Jinggg’s gonna play,” said Gen.G’s Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom, highlighting that Singaporean player Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie, who was part of the 2023 Champions PRX roster, is now playing solely as a substitute.

Bleed Esports’ Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker jokingly quipped that randoms he play in ranked are the strongest competitors, but also pointed the same, while also focusing more on DRX’s strengths.

“I would say. DRX has always been a team that I played many times, and it’s always been a challenge every single time”, yay said.

As for Maksim “Jemkin” Batorov of Rex Regum Qeon or RRQ from Indonesia, he said, “I think DRX will be strong competitors this year. But to be honest, we don’t really think about, like, teams, because if you want to win, we need to win against everything.”

In response, DRX’s Byung-chul “BuZz” Yu answered to those who say DRX was having a “target on their back” by doing well by saying, “In terms of having a target on our back, I think it’s a good sign because it proves that we have been consistent throughout the years and years of VALORANT and I think it’s a good motivation for us to perform and deliver this year as well.

He also said PRX is their strongest competitor, saying they have been doing really well, extremely well” in recent international events.

Detonation FocusMe (DFM)’s Yoshitaka “Anthem” Enomoto, had a different take, saying everyone was the toughest. 

“Every teams are competitors from my perspective. and we are on the third line, and we have nothing to lose, so we will try our best. and I’ll be be the Challenger for the next year,” Anthem said.”

Thai player Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut of Talon Esports, meanwhile, threw a curveball and said his own team is their own strongest competitor.

“To be honest, I’m not worried about any team because the team that I’m worried about the most is probably ours. But, to be honest, it’s because there’s a lot of culture mixing in, and we just need to overcome our hurdles. And I think, we’ll, it doesn’t matter whichever team we’re gonna face, we just need to play together as a team. So I’m not worried about any teams in the league,” Crws said.

Talon fielded a mixed lineup this season, composed of Crws, fellow Thais Jittana “JitboyS” Nokngam, Thanachart “Surf” Rungapajaratkul, Korean Joseph Seungmin “ban” Oh, Lionel “Ienne” Lim You Xiang, and American Peter “Governor” No. This is the first time Talon fielded a mixed lineup for VCT Pacific, much to the dismay of Thais who wanted an all-Thai pro VALORANT roster.

All-Filipino VALORANT team Team Secret was not able to attend the press conference due to a visa application schedule, organizers said.

VCT Pacific Kickoff is scheduled for February 17 to 25 in Seoul, South Korea.