G2, PRX, ZETA, and DRX to compete in today’s lower bracket games - Masters Reykjavik Day 9 Preview

The second round lower bracket is set with today’s competitions. The group stage’s dominant team, DRX will face ZETA DIVISION after falling from the upper bracket. Lastly, Paper Rex’s test is against G2 Esports.

Match 1: DRX VS vs ZETA DIVISION at 7:00 PM CEST / 10:00 AM PDT

Despite their incredible dominance throughout the group stage, DRX failed to overcome OpTic Gaming in the upper bracket semi finals. DRX won the first map with confidence, ending the Ascent after 21 rounds. However, they struggled in their map of choice, Icebox and OpTic had a chance to win the series. DRX VS fought until the end but faced an unfortunate overtime loss in the end. Even though the loss may be upsetting for many fans, the South Korean still looked on point and had a great performance even when they lost. The loss against OpTic Gaming doesn’t mean that they are struggling on the battlefield. On top of their high-level gameplay, DRX have also chosen different maps. Icebox against OpTic and Haven against Paper Rex. We may see different picks from them today. On the other hand, Myeongkwan "MaKo" Kim continues to step up and do his best to carry his team on his shoulders. Kim "Zest" Gi-seok has also joined him during their game against OpTic Gaming, scoring 67 kills in three maps and holding a 1.20 rating. DRX VS’ chemistry and individual skills look better on paper but anything is possible.

ZETA DIVISION came a long way to the lower bracket semi finals. Their run started from the group stage with a one-sided loss against DRX VS. However, they won the remaining group stage games to qualify for the playoffs stage. ZETA didn’t have the best start to the playoffs, getting swept against G2 Esports in the opening round. However, the Japanese powerhouse managed to keep their hopes alive by eliminating Team Liquid in the lower bracket. ZETA and DRX faced each other in the group stage and the result wasn’t desirable for the Japanese team. As the matches and rounds passed, ZETA DIVISION players improved themselves and now they are way better than their first-match look. Split and Fracture seem to be their maps-to-go. Interestingly, DRX VS haven’t played Fracture so far and their only Split game was the third match of the OpTic Gaming series. If ZETA keep their map advantage, we may see an unexpected upset in the third map.

Match 2: G2 Esports vs Paper Rex at 10:00 PM CEST / 1:00 PM PDT

G2 Esports came to Iceland by playing in the VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event Grand Final. Despite losing the final game against FunPlus Phoenix, due to travel restrictions, they came to Iceland as the top-seeded EMEA team. G2 Esports made a great start to the tournament by taking down ZETA DIVISION in two maps, Split and Bind respectively. Aaro "hoody" Peltokangas stepped up and made the biggest impact on G2’s great form. However, their run ended in the second game as the Brazil champions, LOUD swept the European team with two consecutive wins on Ascent and Breeze. G2 picked Bind against ZETA but changed their mind to Breeze yesterday against LOUD. We have seen them performing superbly on Icebox during VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event and we can see them on the ice today. If Oscar Cañellas "m1xwell" Colocho can perform better than he did during the EMEA tournament, G2 are one of the strongest teams in the tournament. Aaro "hoody" Peltokangas is doing everything he can and he showed it in both games but they also need more consistency as a team.

Paper Rex Iceland plane took off after winning the VCT 2022 - APAC Challengers trophy. Their journey didn't start well as they failed to win their first game in the tournament. The group stage giants, DRX were the superior side, closing out the series in three games. Despite losing the series, Paper Rex won the first map which was DRX’s choice, Haven. After losing to the South Korean team, Paper Rex won their do-or-die game against The Guard. The Asian team managed to sweep their opponents on Haven and Split, respectively. PRX’s current form looks decent on the battlefield and they are surely one of the contenders for the trophy. Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto is surely their biggest weapon in the arsenal but we have witnessed better performances of his during the regional matches. With him stepping up with Jett, PRX will be more dangerous for the other teams.

The winners of today’s games will compete in the lower bracket semi finals and the losers will say goodbye to Iceland. Both games will be streamed live on the official VALORANT Twitch channel and everything you need to know about the event is on our events page.