The main part of the playoff stage of Valorant Champions 2023 is nearing its conclusion. After today's matches, there will be a short break until August 24th when the most exciting stage of the tournament will begin. In the first elimination match, European tops Fnatic will face the Korean team DRX, which we will discuss here.

Fnatic's Form

The European team was recently considered the main favorite of the tournament and the primary contender for the win. The bookmakers gave the team odds of 2.0 to win the championship and the top spot among all participants. Such an opinion seems quite logical when looking at the team's statistics for the current season. The "Oranges" started 2023 with a victory at VCT 2023 LOCK//IN São Paulo, where they defeated the reigning world champions LOUD. Later on, the team secured a silver medal and 2nd place after the end of the regular season of VCT 2023: EMEA League. The last major tournament and another easy victory for Fnatic came at Masters Tokyo 2023. In the current championship, the team smoothly exited Group C with a score of 2-0, but then something happened that changed the community's opinion about the team. In the first round of the playoffs, the "Oranges" once again met LOUD and lost this time. It suggests that perhaps the team exhausted their strengths during the season, and they won't secure a victory in the current championship.

In 2023, the team played 24 matches, winning 22. The team's overall win rate is higher than that of other tournament participants, standing at 91%.

DRX's Form

The second participant in the match is South Korea's representatives - DRX, who, unlike their opponents, weren't seen as favorites but are showing excellent results regardless of community expectations. Another difference from their upcoming opponents lies in the Korean team's achievements. They haven't won a major tournament this season but secured prize spots twice. VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo ended with a 3-4 position, regular season VCT 2023: Pacific League in 2nd place. And the last VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo 7-8. In the current championship, DRX emerged victoriously from the Group of Death D, with a score of 2-0. The first playoff match also ended in an easy victory over Bilibili Gaming, but yesterday, the team was soundly defeated by American thieves from Evil Geniuses and went to the losers' bracket.

Match Forecast

There's no denying that Fnatic is the main favorite of the meeting. Bookmakers have given them odds of 1.14 against DRX's 5.24. We just want to add that the "Oranges" already made one mistake, after which they landed in the losers, so as in any esports match, there's a chance they might exit the tournament today. DRX, on the other hand, has been performing decently in the losers, as was the case in last year's World Championship and this year's Masters Tokyo. So, any outcome is possible, but we believe in Fnatic's victory.

Match result: Fnatic wins with a score of 2-1.

Remember, Valorant Champions 2023 is taking place from August 6th to 26th in Los Angeles. The 8 strongest teams that passed the group stage are competing for a total prize fund of $2,250,000 and the title of world champion.

Also read: Evil Geniuses demolished DRX, while reigning champions LOUD lost to Paper Rex - summaries of the semi-final of Valorant Champions 2023.