Updated on June 18, 8:15 a.m. (GMT+8): Improved relevancy.
Kim “stax” Gu-taek is arguably the most dedicated pro in the Valorant scene.
DRX stax and his teammates have long been lauded as the most structured and tactical team in pro Valorant.
From their 102-game win streak as Vision Strikers, their reign over Korea has continued largely unchallenged. On the international stage, the team has gained recognition for impeccable coordination and ruthlessly efficient utility usage.
Stax is one of the longest-standing members of the team, and he knows that that sort of success doesn’t come easy, he tells ONE Esports in this exclusive interview.
It isn’t fun and games all the time — after all, one doesn’t get to the top without putting hours and hours into perfecting their craft.
DRX stax practices for over 10 hours a day
While the rigors of a pro career vary from country to country, it is particularly demanding in Korea.
On a normal day, stax rises at 11:30 a.m. and has an hour to get ready before practice starts, he told ONE Esports. He practices for over 10 hours daily, more than most people put in on a regular work day.
Stax took over the in-game leader role from Kim “Zest” Gi-seok at Valorant Champions 2022, and he continues to call the shots as DRX’s initiator main.
In the VCT Masters Copenhagen 2022 group stage, he was second on the leaderboard with a 1.34 K/D, behind only Guild Esports’ Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko.
A rivalry between stax and former XSET player Brendan “BcJ” Jensen also began at Masters Copenhagen. The duo have exchanged words of banter, with BcJ questioning whether stax should really be considered the best initiator in the game.
The Korean player was savage in his response, saying that he didn’t even know who BcJ was, and that he at first thought he was some kind of fried chicken company.
READ MORE: Exclusive: The hardest roles in Valorant according to the ultimate flex player, DRX Rb
