“We were more focused on remedying our team” - Inside DRX’s battle against internal collapse feat. termi

An era of competitive VALORANT came to an end on August 28, 2026, at the Riot Games Arena in Seoul. For the first time since the franchising era began in 2021, KIWOOM DRX (previously known as Vision Strikers) will not be attending VALORANT Champions. Their legendary run—an active five-tournament qualification streak that stood as a joint record with Fnatic—has finally come to an end.

The fatal blow was delivered by their long-time Pacific rivals, T1, in a decisive 2-0 sweep during the Lower Bracket Round 1 of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Pacific Stage 2 Playoffs. With this heartbreaking defeat, DRX was eliminated in 7th-8th place, falling short of the top spots required to secure a ticket to VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai.

Following the devastating loss, DRX’s head coach, Pyeon "termi" Seon-ho, sat down for an emotional post-match interview to discuss the heavy disappointment of a broken record, the tactical shortcomings on their comfort map Abyss, and the internal roster and leadership struggles that defined their turbulent 2026 season.

Disclaimer: This interview was conducted with termi in his native Korean. Responses are translated and compiled using a combination of the on-site translator and AI to best represent his thoughts.

The Weight of a Broken Dynasty

Entering the 2026 season, DRX shared a prestigious, unbreakable record: they were one of the only organizations in the world to have qualified for every single VALORANT Champions tournament since the inception of the VCT circuit in 2021.

To miss out on a sixth consecutive appearance was a bitter pill to swallow for Coach termi and team captain Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan, both of whom had been present for every single step of that historic journey. In his opening remarks, termi did not hide the profound disappointment felt by the entire camp, acknowledging the weight of the legacy they carried into the match.

We were one of the teams, alongside Fnatic, to have the record to qualify for every single VALORANT Champions so far. And knowing that we could have made it the sixth time in a row, that we couldn't make it possible, so it's just overall very disappointing today.

Despite the magnitude of the moment, termi insisted that the team did not let the pressure of maintaining their perfect qualification record get to their heads. Instead, the team was entirely consumed by a much more immediate problem: surviving a chaotic, unstable season from within.

In regards to Champions, we didn't really have as much pressure or like this mental game that we had to think about... In fact, this season it was more about remedying all the things that were happening internally in our team with the roster changes and all that. So this year, we were more focused on remedying all the situations inside our team more so than worrying about Champions.

The IGL Tug-of-War

The internal struggles termi referred to were largely centered around the team's leadership. For the 2026 season, DRX’s IGL position underwent a highly unusual transition during the 2026 season. Star controller MaKo, who had taken over calling duties in 2025, handed the reins to Kang "BeYN" Ha-bin, only to reclaim them late in Stage 2.

Termi pulled back the curtain on this leadership dilemma, revealing that the roots of the problem traced back to the conclusion of their successful 2025 campaign, where they finished 3rd at Champions.

Originally when MaKo was the IGL, how that happened was that at the time there was no one on the team that could really become an IGL. So we just had to pick whoever fit the criteria the most, which happened to be MaKo. And until 2025 that actually was the case.

And then heading into 2026, what we were actually planning to do was that we were going to recruit an IGL for the season. But during Champions, we decided that we can just keep going with the roster that we had and just go ahead.

But unfortunately in December 2025 there was a sudden absence of one of the players... and by that time we didn't have enough time to recruit an IGL, there was no one left in the free agency more or less. So we had to pivot back.

Faced with an empty free-agency market in December 2025, DRX had to adapt. Because MaKo had expressed significant hardship while balancing his individual play with IGL duties, the coaching staff decided to hand the responsibility to BeYN, whose mental resilience and quick decision-making made him an ideal candidate to lead.

However, as the season reached its climax, MaKo expressed a renewed sense of confidence and took the reins back.

MaKo expressed a lot of hardship when he was an IGL so we wanted to respect his opinion and try going with BeYN's IGL calling because BeYN's such a strong mental player and he is very decisive. And overall it was going well, and then very recently MaKo said with confidence that he wanted to IGL again, that he thought he was ready this time more so than the first time around. So we gave that a go.

The Play-In Trap: Tactical Collapse on Abyss and the Momentum Debate

Nowhere was DRX's lack of tactical preparation more evident than on Abyss, their comfort map turned into their undoing in a 13-7 loss to T1. Termi explained that grinding through the grueling Play-Ins stripped away the critical preparation time they needed most. This scheduling conflict lies at the heart of an age-old debate in competitive VALORANT: does playoff-seeded "rust" beat play-in fatigue? As a veteran coach who navigated this difficult path, termi offered a remarkably balanced perspective on these trade-offs:

There's no definitive answer. As a team that came through Play-Ins, the pro was that we didn't lose our in-game sense, we kept that momentum going, but we didn't have enough time to prepare for Abyss with the map changes. Whereas if you were already in the playoffs, you had a lot more time to prepare for the new map but had to pick your game sense back up.

For DRX, keeping their competitive edge sharp came at a high cost: they preserved their mechanical rhythm but sacrificed the ability to innovate. Unable to design fresh setups for Abyss after its recent map changes, they relied on outdated, familiar strategies—a compromise that T1 ruthlessly punished.

Abyss has been a really good map for us. Today unfortunately, coming in through the Play-Ins, we certainly didn't have enough time to prepare new strats and all the ‘new compositions.’ So we decided to go with what worked best a little bit more, and we also wanted to use that as a comfort pick.

Ultimately, the double-edged sword of the Play-Ins proved to be the tactical trap that ended DRX's historic season.

You can watch the complete interview with termi below:

A Rebuild Begins in the Shadow of Giants

The elimination of KIWOOM DRX marks the end of an era, but it is not the end of the organization's story. While the disappointment of missing Champions is monumental, termi’s eyes are already fixed on VCT 2027. The road back to the top will require stability, a resolved leadership structure, and a deep breath after an exhausting, turbulent season.

As the legendary Korean outfit pick up the pieces, the message to their fans remains one of determination and hope. The streak may be broken, but the foundation of Korean VALORANT's most storied franchise remains. They will look to write a new chapter when the VCT circuit resumes in 2027.

For all things VCT-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: Riot Games