VCT LOCK//IN 2023’s Day 5 is set to pit North American Cloud9 against South Korean prodigy team DRX in an exciting best-of-three series. The winner of the knockout quarterfinal matchup will advance to the Alpha Group semifinals, while the loser will be sent home.
With 32 teams in all, VCT LOCK//IN has a punishing single-elimination format, which has certainly kept all the participants on their toes. For those who don’t know, the teams are divided into two groups, Alpha Group and Omega Group. Each group contains 16 teams.
The first phase of the tournament began on February 13, 2023, with fans witnessing the Alpha Group teams play against each other. As of now, 10 teams out of 32 are eliminated after losing games in the first round and quarterfinals.
This article offers predictions for the next quarterfinal matchup involving Cloud9 and DRX through head-to-head, head-to-head comparisons, recent results, and more.
Cloud9 vs. DRX: Who will win the next quarterfinal elimination series at VCT LOCK//IN 2023?
Considering their performance in VCT LOCK//IN so far, both teams are more or less the same stature. Cloud9 and DRX have won one series in the tournament thus far by defeating their opponents, Paper Rex (PRX) and BBL Esports, respectively.
Looking at their recent form, Cloud9 and DRX seem to have developed enough team chemistry and successful strategies to counter their opponents’ best moves in VCT LOCK//IN and beyond.
However, there are some notable differences between the lists that can help predict the possible outcome of the match on February 18.
predictions
Cloud9 has a newly formed roster powered by Riot Games’ partnership program for Valorant esports. Acquired former OpTiC player yay and former Version1/Sentinels athlete Zellsis while retaining longtime players from Valorant’s old roster, including Vanity, Leaf, and Xeppaa, to fill out its pro roster for VCT 2023.
While Cloud9 has yet to make the best case for team synergy, DRX’s Valorant roster members namely Rb, stax, Zest, BuZz, and MaKo have been playing together since VCT 2021. Their capabilities can be measured by their top tier performances in the former Champions of Valorant 2022. DRX was also one of the most consistent teams in VCT 2022.
Considering the team’s chemistry and discipline, DRX seems to have a noticeable advantage over Cloud9. However, Cloud9, powered by one of Valorant’s best players (yes), is fully capable of turning everything in his favor. After all, VCT LOCK//IN has produced some pretty unexpected results and prompted a lot of amazing plays from teams thus far.
head to head
Considering Cloud9’s nascent form, DRX and Cloud9, in their current composition, have yet to meet in a professional Valorant game.
In Valorant Champions 2021, the previous list of Cloud9, with xeppa, sheetand vanity, he faced Vision Strikers and defeated them in the group stage. Interestingly, Vision Strikers, with rb, tax, Cheer up, Buzzand makothey were later acquired by DRX to form their Valorant roster in early 2022.
recent results
Cloud9 and DRX each won a matchup in the ongoing VCT LOCK//IN 2023. Considering Cloud9’s reformed roster, it would be useless to talk about the performances of the teams in VCT 2022.
However, DRX performed extraordinarily in last year’s Valorant Champions, placing third in the final standings.
Both teams were active during the VCT offseason. Cloud9 performed impressively at the past Red Bull Home Grounds #3 held in December 2022. DRX has also participated in multiple third-party tournaments in the Pacific region and emerged victorious in all of them.
Regardless of how much success DRX’s long-running roster has had recently, both teams seem to be on the same level in VCT LOCK//IN.
potential lineups
XRD
- Kim “stax” Gu-taek (IGL)
- Goo “Rb” Sangmin
- Kim “Zest” Ki-seok
- Yu “BuZz” Byung Chul
- Kim “MaKo” Myeong-gwan
cloud9
- Antonio “Vanity” Malaspina (IGL)
- Nathan “leaf” Orf
- Erick “Xeppaa” Bach
- Jacob “yay” Whiteaker
- Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro
where to look
Fans can watch Cloud9 take on DRX at VCT LOCK//IN 2023 on February 18, 2023 at 9:00am PDT/7:00pm CEST/10:30pm IST. The match will be streamed live on the Valorant esports YouTube and Twitch channels. Additionally, fans can join their favorite streamers’ watch parties to enjoy the game.
Poll: Who will win the elimination quarterfinal series at VCT LOCK//IN 2023?
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