"We all know that DRX is an amazing team": ZETA Division's Laz on their opening match in VCT Pacific League (Exclusive)

Much to the delight of the Valorant community in the region, the highly anticipated VCT Pacific League is about to kick off with its very first match between DRX and ZETA Division. This is the Asian leg of the brand new VCT format and is expected to run from March 25, 2023 to May 28, 2023.

During Face Off, an interactive press conference that's organized by Riot Games ahead of the upcoming tournament on March 22, 2023, Sportskeeda Esports had the opportunity to ask the IGL of ZETA Division, Ushida "Laz" Koji, a question about their first matchup.

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ZETA Division will play their first VCT Pacific League match against DRX soon

As it stands, DRX is arguably the best Asian team in the professional Valorant scene. They have consistently displayed solid performances from the earliest days of the game when they played under the Vision Strikers banner and remained nearly undefeated in Korea.

Since international tournaments began in Riot's character-based tactical shooter game, they have consistently represented their region at the highest levels and have made it to the final stages of various tournaments numerous times, albeit never winning one.

ZETA Division, a Japanese team, are a slightly different story. They have been a powerhouse in their region for the most part, but have generally looked shaky on the world stage.

Going into the VCT Pacific League, anything can happen as the current format of the tournament allows for long-drawn adjustments that teams can make by reviewing how they as well as their opponents are playing. However, facing off against the goliath that DRX is in the very first series of the upcoming tournament might have interesting implications going forward.

It's in this context that Sportskeeda Esports asked Laz how he felt about the match-up, especially after DRX's excellent showing at LOCK//IN. In response, he stated (translated from Japanese):

"It's not just LOCK//IN, we all know that DRX is an amazing team. It will be a tough game, but going into the match we should play confidently."

As such, it's quite clear that confidence is going to be the key factor going into this match. Beating a formidable team like DRX will take not only insane strategies and mechanics, but also sheer force of will.

When it comes to the consequences of this match, Seth "Achilios" King, the person presiding over the press conference, correctly pointed out that winning a match against a strong team like DRX will provide ZETA Division with a massive confidence boost going into the rest of the tournament.

At the VCT LOCK//IN event, the Japanese team played against Leviatán, an unfortunate series where they lost 0-2. Considering it's still early days in the franchising model of Valorant, that one loss is barely an indicator of how the team will perform going forward.