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PSG Talon and DPlus KIA will meet later today in what is going to be a crucial match in the South Korea League 2024 group stage. The winner of today's clash is likely to take the league's regular phase first seed and have the better chance to qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Manchester.
Here's everything you need to know about today's match between PSG Talon and DPlus KIA.
Record between PSG Talon and DPlus
Since Jan. 2021, PSG Talon and DPlus KIA have met 24 times. With a record of 17 wins for DPlus and 7 wins for PSG Talon, the South Korea League 2023 champions should be the favorites to win.
If we ignore every match played between both teams before the start of Year 8, here's how the overall record looks:
- South Korea League 2023 Stage 1: DPlus 7-5 Talon Esports
- South Korea League 2023 Stage 2: DPlus 2-0 Talon Esports
However, much has changed since the last time both rosters met. Talon went through a rebranding as they extended their esports partnership with PSG to Rainbow Six Siege. Additionally, the roster added Lee "Soldier" Si-hyeon and Fabian "Fabian" Hällsten.
Meanwhile, South Korea's powerhouse DPlus added Lee "EunSang" Eun-sang and Im "saeyeora" Seung-hwan to their starting five and signed Kim "EnvyTaylor" Seong-soo as the team's head coach.
Soldier and saeyeora to face former teammates
Heading to Year 9, DPlus KIA and PSG Talon exchanged players as Soldier returned to the red roster while saeyeora signed for the South Korean champions.
After the conclusion of the first four matches, saeyeora is DPlus KIA's fourth-best player (SiegeGG rating of 1.01) after having mainly played with Mute and Thermite.
As expected, the two most experienced players in DPlus KIA, Jo "coted" Sung-joon and Park "Woogiman" Jin-wook are leading the team stats with SiegeGG ratings of 1.39 and 1.23, respectively.
Meanwhile, Soldier has not only been PSG Talon's best player but also the league's highest-rated player with a SiegeGG rating of 1.56 after maining Blitz and Valkyrie.
Overall, following PSG Talon's dominance in the league since the start of the season, every player in the team has registered outstanding stats except for Koo "RoyBoy" Min-seong.
Fabian's record against South Korea
Despite Fabian's extensive career in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege competitive scene, the Swed only played twice against South Korean sides:
- PL Year 2 Season 3 Finals (Nov. 2017): 2-0 vs. Mantis FPS
- Six Invitational 2019 (Feb. 2019): 2-0 vs. Mantis FPS
Combined with his recent results as a PSG Talon coach, Fabian has never lost a map against a South Korean roster. However, unless the red roster become the main powerhouse in the region, the Swed's record should be broken sooner or later.
PSG Talon perfect record on defense
Since PSG Talon welcomed Fabian to the South Korean team, the team's main strength is found in the red roster's defensive success. After playing against Beyond Stratos Gaming, Before and After, BlossoM, and Mir Gaming, the South Koreans have won every defense played.
Meanwhile, DPlus defensive record includes 15 rounds won out of a possible 21 as three of those defeats came against their archenemies FearX.
Considering how defended-sided the meta is right now, being clinical on defense is crucial. It's the base of every team. However, the difference can be made by improving on attack. In a meta where succeeding at defense is the norm, succeed can be found by going a step further and becoming an attacking powerhouse while keeping your strength on defense. Will any of these sides take on the challenge?