VCT 2026 Pacific Kickoff betting picks – Friday, January 30

VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2026 Pacific continues on Friday, January 30, with the second pair of Mid Bracket Round 1 fixtures, when DRX clash with the league’s newcomers VARREL, followed by a regional derby between T1 and Gen.G Esports.

Friday’s affairs will mark only the second match of the split for all four teams, who will hope they can bounce back after a poor start, promising fireworks and plenty of betting opportunities to explore.

Esportbet brings you free VALORANT betting predictions for the two fixtures with expert picks and odds from the top-rated bookmakers.

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  Fast Payouts

DRX vs VARREL

DRX haven’t had the best start to the VCT Pacific season, as they had to admit defeat to FULL SENSE in the upper bracket quarterfinals. It was a competitive match, but despite taking the series lead on Breeze, DRX slipped on Pearl and Split with 8-13.

Song “HYUNMIN” Hyun-min struggled individually, posting the server’s lowest rating of 0.51. However, it was later revealed that he was unwell, so a better showing on Friday is to be expected.

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  The bookies' bookie

VARREL did not look good in their debut match of the season either, as they got crushed by Global Esports. But unlike DRX, VARREL showed little, suggesting they are not ready for the big league.

The best VALORANT bookmakers have DRX priced as firm favorites and for all the right reasons. Despite the slow start, DRX are only going to get better, while VARREL have not shown anything that would suggest they can reach a higher level.

GEN.G ESPORTS vs T1

Gen.G Esports have made significant changes ahead of the 2026 season. Besides losing Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom, they’ve also swapped out player roles, which don’t seem to be working out.

In their first game of the season, Gen.G got humiliated by DetonatioN FocusMe, losing with 8-13 on Abyss and 10-13 on Pearl. Individually, all players except Ha “Ash” Hyun-cheol and Kim “Karon” Won-tae underperformed, and their macro seemed off.

Gen.G might need more time to find traction, but it is evident that the role swaps are not working out.

T1 also had a tough start to the year, getting reverse-swept by Nongshim RedForce. Like Gen.G, T1 did not look comfortable, but that seemed to stem from RedForce’s fast-paced style of play, which was too much for T1, who are still adjusting to playing under Munchkin as a new in-game leader.

Both teams need time to reach their full potential. But unlike Gen.G, T1 at least have their role situation sorted out.