LOUD and DRX will meet in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo Semi-Finals. This match, as well as all the rest, will be held in the BO5 format, so it will be doubly interesting to find out the strongest in the context of the marathon.
To be honest, both teams deserve to go to the grand final, but personally, the Brazilians made a greater impression on me, because, despite the changes in the line-up, they managed to keep the fuse.
In turn, DRX is still a strong team, but it also has weaknesses that have already been exploited by all the rivals that the South Koreans have met.
Therefore, here I would take a closer look at the victory of LOUD, which is slightly, but still more stable than DRX.
Form LOUD
The first team in the Brazilian rankings showed an incredible performance last competitive season, becoming the winner of VALORANT Champions 2022. However, LOUD did not manage to keep the entire top five, and the team did not show up in the off-season.
As for the performances at the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, here the Brazilian team managed to get through a difficult bracket, knocking out Gen.G Esports, Karmine Corp and NRG from the championship.
If we add the absolute support of the public to the cool game, then LOUD becomes the favorite of each subsequent fight, including the upcoming one with DRX.
Latest LOUD results:
- Victory over OpTic Gaming with a score of 2:0.
- Victory over OpTic Gaming with a score of 3:1.
- Victory over Gen.G Esports with a score of 2:0.
- Victory over Karmine Corp with a score of 2:0.
- Victory over NRG with a score of 2:1.
Best LOUD cards:
- Split - 100% wins.
- Fracture - 100% win rate.
- Pearl - 67% of wins.
Nevertheless, the Brazilian team did not even play on the remaining maps.
Form DRX
The first team of the South Korean ranking last year took third place in VALORANT Champions 2022. Further, in the off-season, DRX continued to develop its winning streak, taking over the Daejeon Valorant Invitational and Gwangju Esports Series: Asia.
As for the start of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, here the South Korean team got three victories over BBL Esports, Cloud9 and Talon Esports.
However, we can't say from DRX that the team is in optimal condition yet, because failures happen over and over again, albeit on separate maps.
Latest DRX results:
- Victory over ZETA DIVISION with a score of 13:9.
- Victory over DetonatioN FocusMe with a score of 13:6.
- Victory over BBL Esports with a score of 2:1.
- Victory over Cloud9 with a score of 2:1.
- Victory over Talon Esports with a score of 2:1.
Best DRX Cards:
- Haven - 100% win rate.
- Icebox - 100% win rate.
- Pearl - 50% win rate.
- Ascent - 50% of wins.
In turn, the South Korean team consistently refuses the Lotus card.
LOUD vs DRX Match Statistics
As part of the last season, the teams had one meeting - at VALORANT Champions 2022, the victory went to LOUD (2:0).
Prediction for the match LOUD — DRX
Looking back at the game of the two teams during the championship, as well as the existing face-to-face meeting, there is still some kind of advantage in favor of the Brazilian team.
Yes, DRX is a great team in terms of individual performance and tactics. However, the local audience will eat the South Korean band, and LOUD looks no worse now.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on the victory of the LOUD team.
