“I used that time to grind on my personal skills” - BeYN on coming back to DRX

As VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions playoffs heat up, more teams are getting knocked out of the biggest event of the year. In the first elimination match of the playoffs, Americas’ top seed G2 Esports faced off against Pacific’s fourth seed, DRX. While G2 came out strong, DRX’s teamwork and resilience earned them the right to stay alive in the lower bracket.

Coming into Champions, DRX had to make a significant roster change. Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin stepped in as a substitute for Park "Estrella" Gun, who unfortunately couldn’t make the trip to Paris. After the massive win over G2, BeYN spoke to THESPIKE.GG about the match and his unexpected appearance on the global stage.

Win against G2

G2 hit the stage hot, making it clear they weren’t just here to participate—they were here to win it all. They took the first map, Haven, with ease and looked unstoppable on Abyss after stringing together nine consecutive rounds. But DRX found their rhythm, turned the tide, and took Abyss before closing out the series with a dominant showing on Bind.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions

DRX

2

X

1

G2 Esports

Lower Bracket Round 1 of 4, Best of 3 - September 27, 2025 - 1:00PM

7

Lotus

13

13

Abyss

10

13

Bind

7

DRX

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

MaKo

1.36

239

57/40/25

+17

1.43

76.3%

140.7

27%

56%

9

7

HYUNMIN

1.06

217

47/39/23

+8

1.21

74.2%

149.4

38%

36%

4

7

Flashback

1.01

213

50/42/9

+8

1.19

64.6%

129.1

23%

58%

11

8

free1ng

0.79

161

35/40/14

-5

0.88

65.3%

96.3

29%

50%

5

5

BeYN

0.66

129

26/43/22

-17

0.60

71.1%

84.0

23%

57%

4

3

G2 Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

jawgemo

1.25

257

57/48/12

+9

1.19

70.3%

156.9

28%

63%

15

9

valyn

1.01

184

40/38/23

+2

1.05

76.3%

108.8

28%

63%

5

3

trent

0.91

195

43/43/9

0

1.00

72.8%

136.3

40%

29%

2

5

leaf

0.83

173

36/48/23

-12

0.75

68.2%

118.5

22%

43%

6

8

JonahP

0.69

145

28/39/24

-11

0.72

66.5%

89.0

15%

20%

2

8

BeYN and his teammates expected a tough battle against the Americas’ first seed. For him, the way they won meant more than the win itself. In the match they showed what was missing in the previous matchup against Fnatic, a united team.

“Needless to say that we're very, very happy with our win today. We thought that this was going to be a tough match to go through and what stood out to me is that we took today's win as a united team. So it means more to me right now.”

With G2 racking up nine rounds in a row on the final map Abyss, the pressure was on. BeYN emphasized that it’s important to enjoy the game and stay calm to be able to bounce back in difficult situations.

“Our mentality today was that, you know, let's just let go and just enjoy the game. Even if we lost a round to G2, we were like, hey, it's OK. Let's just keep on going. Let's keep playing our game. And I think that actually helped us.”

Not played in Stage 2

Before Champions, BeYN was inactive during VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Pacific Stage 2. His last match with the main roster was back in early July during EWC VALORANT - Esports World Cup 2025. When Estrella couldn’t travel to Paris, BeYN got the call-up. While not completely shocked by the news, the time away from the spotlight allowed him to prepare and grind, working on his own skills.

“I gave what I could to the team and I used that time to personally grind on my personal skills and for me to just become a better player myself. And I think those efforts and the tries that I made on my personal time actually are helping me here.”

Low expectations

Qualifying as the fourth seed from the Pacific region meant there were fewer expectations placed on DRX—a sentiment shared by Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan earlier in the group stage. BeYN agrees and believes that underdog status helps the team stay composed and have more fun on stage.

“From the outside fans' perspective, if a team comes in as the fourth seed, we don't really get the same amount of expectations as they would have for other teams. And whenever some of us get nervous, we're like, chill, relax. We came here as the fourth seed and it actually helps us. It motivates us to leave the pressure at home and just enjoy the game and be happy with the fact that we're here.”

As a seasoned in-game leader, MaKo often has the final word on strategy. But according to BeYN, DRX is now actively working on empowering the rest of the squad to take initiative—and it shows. Fans have already seen glimpses of this in recent matches, with several DRX players pulling off clutch, high-impact moments.

“I think because we have MaKo as the IGL, we have a tendency to wait for his final call for us to divert and make our plays. So we've been really working on that and making sure that the other four players take initiative and make some bold plays. Be a little bit more active with the communication and I think we are making progress in that area.”

The Journey continues in the lower bracket

DRX continues their Champions run in the lower bracket. From here on out, every match is a do-or-die situation as they fight for a spot in the Grand Final. Their next challenge comes on September 29. With the best teams in the VCT still in the mix, the road ahead is anything but easy. Still, DRX is staying locked in on their own game.

“Moving forward, I don’t think we’re going to focus too much on specific opponents or say, ‘Oh, they’re a good team, we need to be careful.’ We’re just going to play the DRX game, stick to our prep, and take it one match at a time.”

For all things VALORANT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

Featured image source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games.