“It actually took the pressure off” - DRX MaKo on being the fourth seed from VCT Pacific

The second match of Group C at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions turned out to be a bit of an upset. Team Liquid, the first seed from EMEA, met DRX, the fourth seed from Pacific—and the result came as a shock. The underdogs from DRX took down Liquid in a dominant 2-0 fashion, looking unstoppable back on the international stage. DRX’s in-game leader Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan took some time to break down the match and discussed his possibility to win Champions with THESPIKE.GG.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions

Team Liquid

0

X

2

DRX

Group C - Opening Match, Best of 3 - September 13, 2025 - 4:00PM

8

Abyss

13

10

Bind

13

Team Liquid

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Keiko

1.10

215

32/32/16

0

1.00

65.7%

135.6

53%

86%

6

1

kamo

0.86

200

30/35/3

-5

0.86

59.4%

129.2

24%

39%

7

11

paTiTek

0.83

164

25/32/14

-7

0.78

54.7%

106.0

28%

17%

1

5

trexx

0.62

143

18/33/12

-15

0.55

52.7%

93.8

15%

29%

2

5

nAts

0.56

120

17/25/8

-8

0.68

63.8%

81.1

40%

50%

3

3

DRX

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

MaKo

1.23

208

34/20/19

+14

1.70

86.1%

133.8

41%

50%

3

3

Flashback

1.16

233

37/26/10

+11

1.42

70.7%

152.2

21%

50%

6

6

BeYN

1.01

188

28/26/19

+2

1.08

82.4%

124.2

30%

50%

4

4

free1ng

0.88

162

25/27/16

-2

0.93

79.8%

117.1

32%

71%

5

2

HYUNMIN

0.86

170

29/23/5

+6

1.26

74.8%

110.3

48%

64%

7

4

Dominant opening win against Liquid

Their first matchup in Paris looked like a tough one, as DRX were drawn against Liquid in Group C. Before the match, MaKo was excited to face Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin again. The last time the two IGLs clashed was at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Playoffs, when Gambit Esports (now M3 Champions) took down DRX in the playoffs. Four years later, MaKo evened the score.

“We were expecting it to be a rough match because Team Liquid is really strong. We said, 'hey, let's stay positive, vibe out, and we'll see how this one goes.' And so, I just want to thank my teammates for the 2-0 clean win today.”

To MaKo’s surprise, nAts didn’t put up as much of a fight as expected. On both Abyss and Bind, DRX looked superior. Still, MaKo believes Liquid and nAts aren't done in Paris just yet.

“Today, the nAts that we saw weren't the nAts that I know and faced before. I think it's definitely going to get better for them because we know what he's capable of.”

Beyn steps in

Just before the match, DRX confirmed that Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin would be joining the starting roster in place of Park "Estrella" Gun. BeYN hadn’t played a match since EWC VALORANT - Esports World Cup 2025 and missed all of VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Pacific Stage 2. Despite the lack of recent games, he top-fragged on Bind and brought crucial energy to the team on stage. MaKo had full trust in the coaching staff’s decision to include BeYN for Champions.

“The coaching staff, they were trying to think of the best roster for this very event. And they asked us, how would you feel if we went with this five-man roster? And so we said, okay, we fully trust you. Since Estrella couldn't make it to Paris, Beyn is going to play for the rest of the event.”

Mr. Champions

MaKo is one of only three players to have attended every Champions event in VALORANT history. In 2024, he missed both Masters events but still qualified for Champions Seoul. His last international showing was VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Bangkok 2025 earlier in 2025. Consistently reaching the highest level isn’t something he takes for granted.

“I would say that it's a spectacular accomplishment. I'm honored to be one of the three players that made it to every Champions. And I think that I was very fortunate with all the events and all my teams.”

Despite the consistent appearances, MaKo has yet to lift the trophy. Becoming a VALORANT Champion is every pro’s dream, and MaKo is hoping that this is finally his year. As the most experienced player on the squad, he's ready to guide the team’s younger talent.

“The fact that we have some rookies on our team and that I have been to every champs, I could definitely give them an advice or two so that, you know, I could try to fill the experience side of them.”

The pressure is off

For a long time, DRX were expected to be a top seed from the Pacific region. But over time, they lost their edge. They were the last team to qualify for Champions Paris out of all 16 teams, barely edging out Gen.G Esports in circuit points. MaKo, who’s been with DRX since 2022, feels that for the first time in three years, the pressure is off.

“We were always so used to coming in as the number one seed or two for our previous Champions qualification. But coming in as the number four seed for this event, it actually took the pressure off.”

Since no one is expecting much from DRX, MaKo believes that they can enjoy the moments on stage more and just have fun.

DRX now find themselves in a prime spot to make it to the playoffs. Their next opponent is NRG, and if they take down the American squad, they’ll be the first seed out of Group C. Looking ahead, MaKo believes that the squad's energy and drive will take them far.

“I think Champions Paris is definitely one of the few times that I've been really, really optimistic about my team and how far we will go. And I think that was what was missing for our previous internationals.”

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.

Note: This interview with MaKo has been conducted with an on-site translator.

Features image credit: Riot Games