The VCT Pacific Stage One 2025 group stage has wrapped up, and the playoffs are set to begin with the region’s top teams. With Boom Esports and Rex Regum Qeon earning byes to the semifinals, all eyes are now on the remaining contenders as they fight for a spot in the Upper Bracket Finals. Here’s what to expect on Day 1 of the VCT Pacific Playoffs, including crucial fixtures, key roster changes, and our match predictions.
Image Credits: Riot Games
VCT Pacific Playoffs – Day 1 preview
Following the completion of the VCT Pacific Stage One 2025 group stage, the top four teams from each group were announced. Boom Esports and Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) finished in first place in their respective groups. This has given them a bye to the Upper Bracket semifinals. If they win against their opponents, then they will face off in the Upper Bracket finals.
Below is a list of the remaining teams that have qualified for the playoffs stage:
- DRX
- GEN G
- T1
- Paper Rex
- Talon Esports
- Nongshim RedForce
Let’s look at some of the crucial fixtures from the upcoming week:
Talon Esports vs Gen G
Image Credits: Riot Games
The first match of the day is between Talon Esports and Gen.G.
Gen. G. is one of two teams from VCT Pacific to have won a VCT Masters Trophy. On the other hand, Talon Esports was the last team to qualify for VALORANT Champions 2024 after the addition of the “Rank Demon” Primmie. These two teams have faced off against each other 7 times in the past, with Gen G winning 6 of them.
In their most recent fixture, the two teams had quite an interesting match. During that match, Gen G secured the win by ensuring a clean sweep with a scoreline of 2-0.
Since that match, Talon Esports has made two changes. They added the likes of Anupong “thyy” Preamsak, the team’s controller, and Tanate “Killua” Teerasawad, the team’s flex. Their additions to the roster have been quite fruitful for Talon esports, having won against teams such as T1 and Team Secret.
Gen G, on the other hand, has added Ha “Ash” Hyun-cheol to their roster instead of Yoman. Ash plays in the flex by referring to the play Tejo. In this match, while Talon Esports has the firepower with Primmie in their team, it won’t be enough to secure the win.
DRX vs T1: Rematch Galore
Image Credits: Riot Games
A fun fact about this matchup is that it will be the fourth time this match has taken place in the span of three months. Both DRX and T1 qualified for the previous VCT Masters event in Bangkok which the latter went on to become the champions of.
Until VCT Masters Bangkok, DRX had never lost to T1. This changed during the third round of the Swiss Stage, where T1 secured a 2-0 victory against DRX. A significant point to note is that both staxx and BuZz were previously a part of DRX for over 2 years, while the duo has been teammates for nearly 5 years now.
Recently, DRX announced that their player Flashback will be returning to the DRX academy team. Instead, in his play, Estrella will be playing on the team. Estrella has already played three matches with DRX, having won 2 of them against the likes of Gen G and Global Esports.
The one thing to keep in mind for both teams is that it is a full South Korean roster. It will be interesting to see the rematch between the ace duelist for both teams: Song “HYUNMIN” Hyun-min (DRX) and Yu “BuZz” Byeong-cheol.
Our prediction for this match is that T1 will secure their second victory against DRX this year, but the match will likely go to the decider map.