The playoffs stage of VCT Pacific is finally here. The top eight teams that will be taking part in this phase of the tournament have been confirmed, along with their seeding. Following the upper bracket first-round loss, Kiwoom DRX will be facing off against Nongshim RedForce in the lower bracket. The team that loses will be eliminated from the tournament.
Nongshim RedForce after qualifying for VALORANT Masters. Image source: Riot Games
Kiwoom DRX and Nongshim RedForce have had quite the contrasting journeys leading to the playoffs of this competition. Kiwoom DRX started their group stage journey winning their first four games. They then lost to Paper Rex and finished as the second seed of Group Alpha.
In the VCT Pacific Stage 1 playoffs stage, they faced off against Full Sense in their first match where they lost 2-0. This loss dropped them down to the lower bracket of the tournament, against Nongshim RedForce.
Nongshim RedForce, on the other hand, has quite the mixed bag of a journey. They ended their group stage with a record of 2-3. This placed them as the fourth seed of group alpha and a spot in the lower bracket.
In their previous match, they lost to Global Esports in a very close 2-1 match.
In the previous match between Kiwoom DRX and Nongshim RedForce, Kiwoom DRX won 2-1. Each of the three maps were closely contested matches where every map consisted of 23 or more rounds.
Interestingly, one player who stood out in that match was Kim “yong” Ho-yong, the primary sentinel for KRX. In a turn of events, the player was subbed in their previous match against Full Sense. Even if we look at the betting websites’ odds for this game, Nonghsim RedForce are the favorites to win.
One aspect about Nongshim RedForce that KRX must keep an eye out for is the pistol rounds. Nongshim RedForce has won 70% of all pistol rounds they have played in this competition.
Follow this up with their 85% win-rate on anti pistol rounds just goes to show how the momentum can fall away from Kiwoom DRX in just two maps.
One player from Kiwoom DRX that Nonghsim RedForce must try to shut down or counter is Song “HYUNMIN” Hyun-min. The primary duelist for KRX was the match MVP in the previous game between these two teams.
If he is allowed to just play his game and support his team by getting entry frags, the doors to VALORANT Masters London will be shut for Nongshim RedForce. We believe that this fixture will go to the third map due to the fear of elimination in the heads of both teams.
Thus, we feel that due to their synergy, Nongshim RedForce will win this game 2-1.
Featured image source: Riot Games
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