DRX moves 2 key VALORANT players to the bench ahead of 2024 VCT season

VCT Pacific League 2023 runners-up DRX announced the transition of two key players to their reserve roster today, while simultaneously bringing up a new young prospect to round out their starting roster.

As teams across all four of the franchised VCT leagues prepare for the 2024 season, major roster moves have shuffled players around to various teams and also allowed for new talent to rise up through the ranks. South Korea’s DRX has moved veteran players Goo “Rb” Sang-min and Kim “Zest” Gi-seok to the bench, a surprising move that has allowed the team to call up Cho “Flashback” Min-hyuk from DRX Prospects.

The transition comes as somewhat of a shock, as DRX was plagued by roster decision fatigue all season in 2023, alternating between their original roster and a new variation that included another young prospect, Jung “Foxy9” Jae-sung. Foxy9 and Zest routinely switched spots on the starting roster through 2023, but Zest continued to be a pivotal part of bringing the team back in tough games.

Rb, on the other hand, has been a mainstay for DRX as far back as the team goes. Even when the roster was competing as Vision Strikers back in 2021, Rb was lighting up the stage with his flexibility. In 2023 alone, Rb played 10 different agents across the VCT season, more than any other player. He is known for bringing Neon back into the meta, specifically on Fracture, where DRX utilized a fast-paced composition that ran over their opponents time after time.

With Rb and Zest out, DRX will now rely on their newest player, Flashback, a young prospect who has been playing in DRX’s development program since August of this year. Flashback is now the youngest player on DRX’s roster at just 18 years old.

Flashback is known as a flex-Sentinel player, so DRX is likely anticipating him to fill the role left in Rb’s absence. Though Rb has proven himself as one of the best flex players in the world, he most often played Killjoy for the team.

While the loss of Rb and Zest presents a potential issue with DRX’s flexibility in their future compositions, perhaps a more rigid structure is exactly what the team needs moving forward. After constant criticism about their roster shuffling last season, introducing another young player into a roster still anchored by in-game leader Kim “stax” Gu-taek may prove beneficial.

After being moved to the reserve player roster, Rb and Zest are now restricted free agents and have the opportunity to explore future contracts with other teams.