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VCT Champions 2023 was an exciting tournament with a lot of storylines coming into it. We had the potential of FNATIC being the first team to win all three international events, Jiing’s last dance with Paper Rex, Evil Geniuses’ underdog (and villain) run, and more. Most exciting for me, every international event brings new ideas for myself and others to analyze. One of my favorite ideas from the event was DRX’s approach for their Attack on Split. They brought a playstyle I have not seen in their composition of Omen, Viper, Raze, Skye, and Killjoy. New agent tech like their Viper Wall and Orb to create lurk-presence on A Site and B Site was exciting to watch play out and often looked unbeatable. Unfortunately, they only won 1/3 maps of Split, but their approach consistently highlighted the strengths of their Attacking Default.
With the introduction of this default by DRX, I have seen a lot of conversation referencing the main core utility of Viper. The default itself is strong, but it is important to look at the amount of layers they have behind it. Outside of just hitting B, there’s a lot of flexibility in their approach. DRX showed a dynamic playstyle where they would adapt after the enemies would adopt a new game plan. If any opponent gave them space, they were quick to act on it and pop into executes. Their innovation on the map shows a different approach that I would not be surprised to see adapted by more teams within the OFF//SEASON.
<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_pink.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_pink.svg" width="40px" /> The purpose of this article is to take a deeper dive into competitive VALORANT games. This follows the part of the approach that I apply when reviewing games; identifying gaps, weaknesses, strengths, and understanding how teams play.
Any questions or inquiries regarding my work can be directed to @SAB3R5K on Twitter or Emailed to [email protected]
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TXr7OCpsoA&t=2053s
On Split, we have seen a variety of compositions this year throughout the VCT Circuit. The core that has dominated in picks this year is double-duelist compositions with Jett/Raze: We have seen different iterations of Jett/Raze comps: The Standard Composition (Astra/Viper/Jett/Raze/Skye), No Initiator Composition (Omen/Jett/Raze/Cypher/Sage), and other similar ones. More recently, some teams like FNATIC integrated Breach onto the Map (Omen/Raze/Breach/Skye/Cypher). DRX’s composition is standard within the Split meta, outside of Killjoy, who has been unpopular in the 2023 VCT Season.
Killjoy's popularity on Split has decreased since the re-release of the Map Pool in Patch 6.0. So far, out of all VCT events before Champions, Killjoy has been played on Split in ~14% of matches (16/113); this compares to Cypher’s appearance in ~52% of matches (59/113). Killjoy holds a 37.5% win rate in non-mirrored matchups; however, all wins come from 3-teams in domestic league matches: Cloud9 in the Americas; Weibo Gaming and Night Wings Gaming in China. To sum it up, Killjoy has been an extremely unpopular pick within the 2023 VCT season.
Despite Killjoy's low pick rates on Split, I do not believe that is relative to her power on the map. The ability to act as a “sixth player” with her utility is useful for gathering consistent information about multiple extremities. For example, on Attack her Turret can passively hold B Main instead of placing a player there while defaulting. Defensively, you can use an aggressive Turret or Alarmbot for consistent information towards A Main and A Ramp against potential lurks. This type of information can allow you to place other agents elsewhere in your default, or react on opposite sides of the map. While her mollies have less stall potential on the map due to how easy they can be to destroy/avoid, the value of her information can open up more opportunities in the game plan.
Killjoy Pickrate on Split (Non-Mirrored)
<aside> <img src="/icons/star-of-life_pink.svg" alt="/icons/star-of-life_pink.svg" width="40px" /> Data provided by RIB.GG. Teams that faced a mirrored Killjoy matchup on Split are excluded in the overall sum.
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The DRX Default uses different utility than the normal Viper A Site utility. Viper uses a wall similar to Cypher’s Cages, and uses an Orb on B Site. Killjoy uses utility A Main and uses their Turret as a body on their attack so they can pivot away from wherever they are holding. Their overall gameplan allows for dynamic gameplay and puts a lot of pressure on the enemies ability to hold Mains. They show a well-thoughout out gameplan that involves every
Viper throws their Wall from Spawn → A Main, which denies vision from A Ramps and A Site. This is similar to the Defaults with Cypher Cages; however, unlike Cypher, Viper’s Wall can be activated or deactivated to deny vision anytime in the round. The Wall creates more question marks in A Main but does not put as much pressure on A Heaven as the standard Viper Wall. Because Viper’s Wall goes deeper in A Main, Killjoy throws a Molly to stop defenders from getting the information immediately by pushing. Killjoy also places Turret to give information if the enemies peek or push into A Main. Killjoy’s Turret allows her to lean towards Mid if her teammates are heavy B Main. Killjoy could also place her Alarmbot inside of A Main near the Orb instead of Turret as an alternative.
VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 16
After Viper throws their Wall from Spawn → A Main, they also throw their Orb on B Site. This Orb denies vision into B Main and denies any crossfire from B Site and B Heaven/Rafters. This means two defenders would have to hold both sides of the Orb to make sure DRX does not lurk. With this Orb they usually contact into B Main early on. They only start to use the extra utility in B Main when the enemies attempt to contest it in the mid-round. Other times, like versus LOUD, they ignored if the enemies contested B Main and would use the Orb to Split B Site. While DRX did not use the Orb to lurk, it is the perfect Orb to lurk with. Enemies would typically attempt to fight for B Main or use sentinel utility around the Orb. The Orb adds an extra layer to deny their ability to get control.
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VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. NAVI) - Round 5
DRX either lean heavy towards B Main, take Mid initially, or take Mid reactively. Usually they react into Mid if the enemies deny B Main. If enemies respect the Viper Utility, there would be at least 1 player in Mid, which makes Mid easy for DRX. They always pressure Vents, and only smoke for Mail. Most of the time Raze will walk inside of the Smoke and get posted inside of Mail. Omen holds a Blind for A Heaven, but if nobody pushes he will smoke. They mainly focus on B Heaven pressure while only going inside of Vents if they want to attempt to kill an enemy.
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VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 15
One of the most impressive factors of DRX’s Default was how powerful their executes were on the B Site when they could transition into them. Their default always showed a bias towards B Site vs. LOUD, including when they pressured Mid. The incorporation of the Orb when splitting B Site, or using it to flood out is an extremely powerful tool they have outside of using it for control of B Main.
The DRX B Site Execute may be one of my favorite strategies I have seen from them this year. After using the Orb for contact inside B Main, they pop through the Orb and execute. This allows them to flood in multiple directions when they hit the Site. Viper also picks up their Orb and places it on the Bomb. Their after-plant focuses on delaying the push-through with Viper Orb and Killjoy Mollies. This makes it easier to fight on-site and disrupts enemies' retakes. They consistently do chip damage to any enemies attempting to push Bomb and have mollies to follow it up. The value from finding multi-purpose ways to get value out of Viper’s Orb is one of the main factors for how strong DRX’s B Post-Plant is.
VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 13
VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 13
VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 16
VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 16
When LOUD attempted to contest B Main, DRX started pressuring Mid heavier. They leaned into their B Split, and use their Orb to help ignore B Main. Because DRX do not have control of B Main they hold onto B Heaven with Omen, while Killjoy holds Mid. Viper, Raze, and Skye play on Site in this execute. They did attempt to pressure Defender Spawn slightly, but the main hold is towards Heaven.
VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 15
VCT Champions 2023 (DRX vs. LOUD) - Round 15
It is important with any game plan to understand weaknesses and create solutions. From watching DRX, and the evolution of their playstyle from their LOUD match to NAVI, their understanding of how to counter their opponent's response was seamless. They understand that enemies taking control of B Main would take away value from their default. DRX showed that versus LOUD, whenever they got B Main they had a strong response. However, they had answers for NAVI's attempts at taking B Main away early on.