Flashback’s departure from the active roster comes as a huge blow for DRX, particularly as they prepare to face Team Secret in their first match of VCT Pacific Stage 1 in just two days.
SOUTH KOREA – Cho “Flashback” Min-hyuk has decided to bench himself from DRX’s starting lineup with immediate effect due to personal reasons, the Korean organization has announced on Twitter.
The decision was made just two days before the commencement of VCT Pacific Stage 1, as he formally requested a day before on April 3rd to take an indefinite leave. “We have mutually decided to respect Flashback’s decision to excuse himself from the starting roster. For now, we kindly ask the entire VALORANT community to respect Flashback’s privacy.”
DRX are about to face off against Team Secret in the opening week of VCT Pacific Stage 1, followed by a matchup against Global Esports just two days later.
ALSO READ: Ascension-qualifying roster reunite in MLT Esports with tesseract and LeVi additions
Flashback earned his spot on the main team after his time with DRX Prospects and a trial period throughout the 2023 OFF//SEASON period where he played the TEN VALORANT Global Invitational and Red Bull Home Ground Tokyo before his promotion became permanent. The 18-year-old secured a permanent contract in December, filling the void left by the departures of Goo “Rb” Sang-min and Kim “Zest” Gi-seok.
During his debut at the VCT Pacific KICKOFF in Seoul, Flashback delivered a strong performance and emerged as the team’s second-highest-rated player playing as a Sentinel behind Kim “MaKo” Myeong-kwan. However, despite their efforts, their campaign concluded with a 3rd-4th place finish after a loss to eventual champions Gen.G in the semi-finals.
It is anticipated that DRX will field Kang “BeYN” Ha-bin, another product of DRX Prospects, in his shoes for the time being. BeYN spent the 2023 Challengers season playing for Maru Gaming during which he helped them finish second runners-up on both occasions. Following this, he returned to DRX Prospects before venturing into China later in the year, where he represented All Gamers in the China Evolution Series circuit.
The 20-year-old was called up to the main team just a week ago on February 27, although at that time there was no clear explanation for registering a sixth player on the roster.
DRX will be counting on the time BeYN spent under the organization’s academy to ease his integration with the main roster and prepare him for the highest level of competition in the region held in their hometown of Seoul.
Without Flashback, DRX’s roster will be the following for the time being:
- 🇰🇷 Kim “stax” Gu-taek
- 🇰🇷 Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul
- 🇰🇷 Kim “MaKo” Myeong-kwan
- 🇰🇷 Jung “Foxy9” Jae-sung
- 🇰🇷 Kang “BeYN” Ha-bin
- 🇰🇷 Cho “Flashback” Min-hyuk (Reserve)
- 🇰🇷 Pyeon “termi” Seon-ho (Head coach)
- 🇰🇷 Kim “glow” Min-soo (Coach)
- 🇰🇷 Kwon “Argency” Soon-woo (Coach)
For more insights on the Asian VALORANT scene and upcoming content like this, be sure to like and follow VALO2ASIA on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Cover photo courtesy of VCT Pacific
