Stax Benched From DRX's Valorant Roster Ahead Of VCT Pacific Stage 2

DRX recently announced that they have benched their IGL stax from the main Valorant roster ahead of VCT Pacific Stage 2. The news came as a shock for the Valorant community as stax is considered one of the best Valorant IGLs and has led DRX to many victories. stax even won the IGL of the Year award for VCT Pacific in 2023.

The decision might have come after the team had continuously failed to qualify for the Masters event. In the VCT 2024: Pacific Kickoff event, DRX grabbed the 3rd-4th position, followed by finishing 4th in the VCT 2024: Pacific Stage 1.

Also Read: VCT 2024 Masters Shanghai Playoffs: Qualified Teams, Format And More

DRX To Look For IGL For Their Valorant Roster After Benching stax

DRX announced via social media that they have benched Stex from their main lineup. The announcement read:

After a careful and lengthy consideration, DRX has made the difficult decision to place Gutaek stax Kim from the starting roster to the bench status effective immediately. stax will remain a part of DRX as we head into Stage 2 but is granted permission to seek new opportunities as a restricted free agent.

The news came as a shock to all the Valorant fans, and the community considered stax's departure from DRX as the "end of an era". After the announcement, stax expressed his gratitude for his fans and team's support over the past four years. 

Stax was one of the core members of the initial Valorant lineup, which was called Vision Strikers. Vision Strikers was one of the most successful teams in the initial days of Valorant esports. After conquering Korea, they showcased their dominance in APAC and international tournaments. DRX soon acquired Vision Strikers, and the boys in blue and white continued their domination under DRX as well.

DRX became a VCT Partnered Team in 2022, and stax played a crucial role in DRX's success. Under stax, DRX qualified for Masters Reykjavík, Masters Copenhagen, and Champions in 2022. In Valorant Champions 2022, DRX came third after receiving a loss from Optic Gaming in the lower bracket finals. After an era of regional dominance, Paper Rex overtook DRX. In VCT 2023: Pacific League, DRX lost to Paper Rex in the grand finals, but they still qualified for the Masters Tokyo. In Tokyo, DRX saw an early elimination in the playoffs.  

In 2024, DRX hasn't qualified for any Masters event, which might have caused the managed to bench stax and look for a new IGL. While DRX hasn't announced stax's replacement, they will have to find a new IGL soon as the VCT Pacific Stage 2 is less than two months away.