KIWOOM DRX has released three coaches and seven players across its main roster and DRX Academy, just days after Riot did not select the organisation for the next VCT partnership program, according to VLR.gg.
The announcement comes as Riot reshapes the top level of Valorant for 2027. DRX’s decision shows how quickly that change is being felt by organisations whose place in the league is no longer guaranteed under the new system.
Three coaches and seven players are out
VLR.gg reported that the organisation’s head coach Pyeon “termi” Seon-ho and coach Kwon “Argency” Soon-woo were released. Both had been with the team since its Vision Strikers days. DRX also parted with players Kim “MaKo” Myeong-gwan, Kang “BeYN” Ha-bin, No “free1ng” Ha-jun, and Song “HYUNMIN” Hyun-min.
The academy side was affected as well. DRX Academy coach Jung “OD” Jin-myung was released alongside players Park “Kyra” Jae-young, Lee “apeX” Chan-min, and Shin “Krexx” Jae-yong.
In all, the announcement cuts across the organisation’s senior and developmental structures. It removes two long-serving coaches, trims the main roster, and breaks up part of the academy pipeline at the same time.
DRX said the roster shake-up followed a meeting between players and management after the team was not chosen for the partnership program. The org said they discussed their next steps ahead of VCT 2027 and reached a mutual agreement to separate.
“Following our non-selection to the VCT partnership program, the players and management gathered to discuss our next steps ahead of VCT 2027.”
The organisation added that, after considering the effect of the partnership change and wider league adjustments, “all parties mutually agreed that parting ways is the most responsible path for everyone’s immediate interests.”
MaKo leaves the longest-running core
MaKo’s departure stands out most. VLR.gg described him as the rock of the most recent KRX roster and the longest-tenured player by a wide margin. He joined the VS/DRX/KRX core in July 2021 and has helped the organisation reach 11 international events in that time.
BeYN is the next-most tenured player to leave. He has been with DRX since 2022, when he was on the academy roster, and VLR.gg noted that he has competed for F4Q, Maru Gaming, and All Gamers in the past. The article says he is best known for his three seasons with DRX, where he started as an Initiator player and later became the team’s in-game leader.
free1ng and HYUNMIN joined ahead of the 2025 season and both left clear marks on the team. VLR.gg said free1ng quickly became known as one of the world’s most iconic Tejo players. HYUNMIN drew praise for his aggressive Duelist play, especially his Waylay in the “mosquito comp” that termi used to push DRX to third place at Champions last year.
That third-place finish mattered in a roster that had already built a reputation on deep international runs. The team’s recent form has been tied to a core that blended veteran structure with high-tempo individual play, and both MaKo and BeYN were central to that identity in different roles and stages of the lineup’s evolution.
A major DRX name enters an uncertain phase
Despite the departures, DRX said it is not leaving Valorant. The organisation said it will “remain fully committed to preparing for our next chapter of VALORANT esports.”
That commitment comes from one of the most recognisable names in Korean Valorant. VLR.gg pointed to DRX’s history stretching back to the Vision Strikers era, including the team’s 102-match unbeaten streak and its third-place finish at Champions Paris. Players such as Foxy9, Zest, Rb, stax, and BuZz have all worn the jersey at different points.
The publication also said no statement has been made on the future of DRX Academy. It noted that academy teams are widely believed to be excluded from 2027, which leaves the developmental side of the organisation in a more uncertain position than the main roster.
That uncertainty makes the timing of the announcement sharper. DRX is still present in Valorant, but the organisation has already lost a large part of the staff and player group that carried it through the current era. How it rebuilds after the partnership snub will shape both its immediate roster plans and the future of its academy setup.
The releases also underline how much of DRX’s identity has been built around continuity. termi and Argency date back to the Vision Strikers days, MaKo has been a constant since 2021, and BeYN, free1ng, and HYUNMIN represented different stages of the team’s recent push. With all of them now gone, the organisation enters VCT’s next phase with far less of that established core than it had only days ago.
VLR.gg said the change was not framed as an exit from the game, but as a step into the next chapter of the organisation’s Valorant efforts. That leaves DRX with a familiar brand, a long competitive history, and a roster picture that now needs to be rebuilt from a much thinner base than before the partnership announcement.
For people who follow VCT more closely, do you think a team like DRX should keep the core together and gamble on rebuilding around the new system, or cut everyone loose straight away like this? It feels brutal to lose the coaches and the academy side in one go. I am trying to understand if this is normal when a partnership spot is missed or if DRX went harder than most orgs.
From what I have seen, most orgs wait too long and then panic later. If the spot is gone, keeping a big salary stack just burns money, so this kind of clean break is sadly normal.
MaKo being the longest-running piece hits the hardest for me. Seven players is a big cut, but losing the guy who has been there since 2021 and helped push them to 11 internationals feels like the real end of an era. DRX has always been about that stable core, so this is more than just a roster shuffle to me. I wonder if they can keep any of that identity when so many pieces are gone at once.
11 internationals and now the sequel is called ’employment status update’ :/ rough one
11 internationals and still the paperwork bossfight won
yeah, that is what makes it sting. DRX was one of the few teams where the same names kept showing up across eras, so the history feels connected instead of random. When you lose the coaches, MaKo, and the academy pipeline at once, it stops being a normal roster change and starts feeling like the end of a whole chapter.
academy got hit too oof
thats the scary part tbh
The part about termi and Argency going out hurts more than the player names for me. Those two were there since the Vision Strikers days, so this feels like the organisation is cutting into its own history, not only the current roster. I get the business side after non-selection, but it still looks very harsh when the coaches are part of the old backbone. DRX Academy being affected at the same time makes it look like a full reset.
Riot created this mess by making the future uncertain, so orgs are just acting rationally. If a partnership era ends and the academy side might be dead anyway, nobody should pretend loyalty matters more than survival. I do not love it, but I think DRX is doing the correct thing by ripping the bandage off now instead of dragging the situation into 2027.
Fair enough
corporate reset speedrun
Too cold
Cold maybe, but I think waiting would be worse. If the academy is already in limbo, dragging everyone through months of uncertainty just to keep appearances would be uglier.
MaKo should’ve stayed
nah, if the org is getting dropped from partnership then keeping one franchise hero around changes nothing. sad as hell but i get why they would clear the deck and start over.
Maybe, but that’s exactly why it stings. You do not build a brand around years of continuity and then act like the core is expendable the second the spreadsheet changes.
termi gone is wild
Vision Strikers relic wiped out
not relic, just change