Former Heretics Valorant player Mixwell, His Biggest Clutch Moment in VCT EMEA

Óscar “mixwell” Cañellas Colocho’s shock announcement that he was retiring from competing to ‘start a new life’ rumbled through the scene less than 24 hours ago. His pursuit for a life outside of competing puts an end to a decade-long career that spans two FPS titles. In the wake of this, Strafe Esports wanted to honor the esports legend with a transcript from our interview vaults. This interview takes place on the 5th of May, immediately after Team Heretics’ victory over Giants Gaming in VCT EMEA.

The One No One Expected

With a score of 1-5 heading into Week 6, Team Heretics had their backs against the wall against favorites Giants Gaming. Their odds of making VCT EMEA Playoffs at this point was slim to none. However, just when they were counted out, Heretics pulled off the miracle win, defeating Giants 2-0 to extend their lease of life in the tournament.

We've been through insane rough time...Everything was on the line...There was a lot of pressure, and we made it.

Congratulations on your win today, that was fantastic playing from every one of you. First off, the big question, how does it feel to win this series?

"It feels amazing. We’ve been through insane rough times; we’ve been underperforming the whole season. We also made a big bold move, and it was against a team from Spain as well. Against ex-teammates, ex-coach… Everything was on the line because we had a 9.8% chance of making it to Playoffs. There was a lot of pressure, and we made it. So, super happy."

Team Heretics made use of the off-meta duelist pick Yoru in a Hail Mary attempt to clinch the series, and it paid off massively for them. However, on Map 1, despite being up 9-3 in the first half, Heretics only managed to close the game with a 13-9 score. 6 of the first 7 rounds past the side swap went to Giants.

G2 Esports' Oscar "Mixwell" Cañellas poses at the VALORANT Champions Tour 2021: Stage 3 Masters Features Day on September 7, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

Your personal performance in this series was some of the best you have shown all season. What is your personal take on what went well in this series? Were there any complications?

"Negative takeaways first: we adapted to the defense on Pearl too late. They were doing the B-execute that LOUD does, over and over, and we didn’t have an answer for a long time. If we didn’t manage as many rounds on Attack as we did, we probably would have lost the game. On the positives, we didn’t even practice Pearl. So, it was really good from us that we were able to change the comp.

To be honest, I was in the backstage when I said, ‘Guys, I’m going to play Yoru. I don’t think we can play the comp that we used to play before.’ It was a bold move and they all trusted me, and it worked. On Lotus, they did the research, and they had some really good rounds. They started contacting on 10-5 or 9-5 (advantage to Giants at this point), because they knew “keloqz” usually leaves A after taking pressure.

We adapted to it, and we left “keloqz” there with “Avova,” so that they could not retake it again. We had a strong hold on C, and we had a lot of information, because “weber” played really well, and he was giving us information mid-round. So, that’s another positive. “weber” is the positive to be honest. “weber” is the positive."

The Hail Mary that Began It All

As “mixwell” referenced, the Yoru pick was not a practiced or premeditated one. Heretics had previously depended on a variant of the composition that LOUD had popularized on Pearl. It included the use of Viper and Harbor as the double controller, with a stable support system that included Skye and Killjoy to enable the Jett.

In this Giants series, Heretics went with a double initiator-double duelist composition that made use of the chaos from Fade and Yoru to crack open sites. “mixwell” himself posted 7 first bloods in that map.

What inspired you to consider Yoru? Is it because you had success with him before on G2? Or did you just feel this would be the perfect fit for the composition? Traditionally, since you joined Heretics, you have primarily been playing Killjoy, Viper.. a lot of Viper actually. What made you want to switch up your role and playstyle on this map in particular?

"Well, I practiced a lot of Yoru with G2 on Bind. We didn’t use it, but I was performing really well. I played it a lot in ranked as well, it’s one of my favorite agents. We started our attack on Pearl, and historically, that map was not good for us. So, it was a bold move, but also, if we had played the normal comp, I feel like we would have lost. So, sometimes you need to trust yourself and do what you think is best.

Yoru is really good at creating chaos, and not letting the enemy team be comfortable. That’s the main thing that I wanted to do in this game. I also wanted to give more room to “keloqz” as well, so that he normally doesn’t have to dash in by himself. And it worked. I’m glad it worked. Because imagine if we lost, and it was my idea. So, very glad."

Sometimes, you need to trust yourself, and do what you think is best.

“mixwell” also included that part of the gamble came about because of their lack of preparation. With the sudden removal of “zeek” from the active lineup, coach Brandon “weber” William Weber was called up to bat for the team.

"We prepared other maps that was not Pearl. We prepared for Lotus, we prepared for Ascent. We thought they were going to pick Ascent. We prepared every map except Pearl,’ he said. ‘It was a possibility,’ he admitted, ‘but we had no time to prepare everything because we changed, and we only had two days with “weber.” So, we did not have time to prepare for every map and we took a gamble."

Troubles In-House

As Heretics struggled internally to function as a roster, the troubles manifested in their results as well. Their low success thus far in VCT EMEA made for poor team morale as “mixwell” revealed.

This may be a sore topic, but I wanted to ask what you thought about Heretics’ performance across VCT EMEA so far. Like you said, you guys were underperforming, but generally, your matches were close scores. How do you feel, coming out of it now?

"I feel like the season was rough. Because, in bad times, the team chemistry was not there. We had a lot of arguments during the season. The mindset was not very good to be able to comeback, and I think the pressure got to us. So, I think we were underperforming, especially because we were weak mentally. If the game was going wrong, the winning mindset wasn’t there. And that was the biggest change, I believe. We were down 10-5 (on Lotus), we were still talking about how to solve the problem. “hoody” did an ace, I don’t remember which round, and we didn’t care. That’s the mindset you need if you want to win."

Bright Spot Amidst Troubles

During his tenure on Team Heretics, “mixwell” highlighted the issues the team faced during their run in VCT EMEA 2023. However, he did point out of one the bright spots on their team was Lithuanian IGL Ričardas “Boo” Lukaševičius.

How has your experience been like, working with “Boo” so far? What are the dynamics of the team like?

"At the start, we needed some time, so we brought “zeek” in, to IGL. After the game against Futbolist, (FUT Esports), we brought it back to “Boo.” “Boo” has had a rough time in this team, because he was used to another atmosphere, where whatever he said, people were doing it without saying anything. So, he got full trust, you know. And at the start, that didn’t happen. So, he lost a lot of his confidence, and he wasn’t himself.

So, I’m happy now that you can finally see the real “Boo.” Someone that can shotcall, can call really well, and he’s a really good teammate as well. He also works really well with “neilzinho” and “weber.” They have good chemistry there. The Heretics project should be around “Boo” in my opinion. IGLs are rare, so you have to keep him, if I was someone in charge."

Conclusion

Mixwell’s final competitive team, Team Heretics, had a tumultuous 2023. Their brief respite during the regular season came about in part due to the clutch performance from this veteran. Team Heretics failed to complete their run to Playoffs, falling to both KOI and Team Vitality. In the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), they were knocked out in the first round by none other than KOI again.

How do you feel about your match against KOI next week? That's another Spanish series.

That's another derby yeah. I mean, I'm super pumped. The two games I wanted to win the most, was the one we won today, and the one that is coming next. For me, it is really special, and I hope we can bring like what we did today and win. And then, Vitality left to make Playoffs. That would be an insane run.

However, his lasting impact and career will likely mark him as one of the most influential Spanish player to have played Valorant and Counter-Strike since their infancy. His legacy will be one that inspires many to compete, from superstar newcomer in Counter-Strike, to veteran, back to star in Valorant, and finally veteran support in his final team. Mixwell's passion for competing with be a lasting memory in the Valorant scene and whether or not he comes back to competing, no one can say his final year was not exciting.

To keep up-to-date with the latest Valorant news, follow our updated rostermania tracker here on Strafe Esports.

Credit: Lance Skundrich/Riot Games

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