Gen.G Munchkin on building such a dominant team “Players who are hungry will be more driven to work hard.”
In an exhilarating year for competitive VALORANT, Gen.G has emerged as a dominant force, clinching their second trophy and third title of 2024 by winning VCT Pacific Stage 2.
This marks a remarkable achievement as the team has reached the Grand Finals of every official VALORANT tournament this year, a total of five, setting a new standard in the esports world.
As anticipation builds for Champions 2024, Strafe Esports had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with Gen.G's in-game leader, Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-beom. In this insightful interview, Munchkin shares the journey of how this formidable roster was assembled, the strategies behind their unprecedented success, and how they consistently defied expectations to become a team to be reckoned with on the global stage.
“So, at the beginning, when we won our first title, it kind of felt like, ‘Okay, we have a title under our belt.’ But then as the season progressed, as we played more and more matches, my teammates and I, as well as the coaches, our trust in each other grew stronger and stronger. And I think that played a really important role in the success that we've had over the season.”
Assembling the pieces
The Tiger Nation was not always at the top of competitive Valorant. This roster, that was assembled at the beginning of the season had been put together by mastermind Kim "HSK" Hae-seong, former Head Coach and current Head of Strategy of Gen.G Esports.
[Interviewer] This Gen.G roster that we see now, was actually brought together at the beginning of this season. So what were the strategic decisions that led to this kind of success, in your opinion?
“So it's hard for me to go into some of the details, because I was one of the last players to join the roster. But as far as I'm aware, when coach HSK, who was on the team earlier, was building the roster, as far as I'm aware, what he prioritized was, first of all, he wanted players who are hungry, because players who are hungry will be more driven to work hard. So he was looking for that hunger in players.
And then the second thing he was looking for was aim. Because, of course, at the end of the day, this game comes down to aim. And whenever HSK brings a new strat to us or whatever, the players need to be able to shoot in order to execute it.
So the aim was probably the next important factor.”
[Interviewer] You said that you were one of the last players to be brought into the team. So from your perspective, what do you think were some of the biggest challenges in the team? And also personally for you, were there any challenges when you entered the team?
“So even though I joined the roster pretty late, officially, I was in discussion towards the beginning in terms of joining Gen.G. I was talking to the Gen.G players about joining Gen.G. And at that time, we had already talked about me being IGL. But I did get another offer from a different team, which I thought at the time looked better. So I was in discussions with this other team.
We almost signed a contract even. But that sort of fell through at the last minute. So then I came back to the Gen.G guys. I reached out to them first and then ended up officially joining Gen.G. And because we had already talked about me being IGL from the beginning, there was no issue being IGL when I officially joined.”
Building from the ground up
Although seeing current results, it can be easy to say that all the pieces of the Gen.G team just clicked, it was anything but. The team faced their own set of challenges internally that they needed to overcome to become the titans that they are today.
[Interviewer] You've accomplished quite a lot with this roster. But when it was actually put together, many people were actually underestimating your abilities. So how did you guys as a team handle this sort of stress and the mental pressure? And you also had a rookie in your team, Karon, this being his first year of professional play. So how did you deal with all of these scenarios at the same time?
“Initially, I had some of the same thoughts as well, looking at some of the players already signed to Gen.G. I thought maybe I might be able to find a better offer elsewhere. That’s why considered the other offers at the beginning.
But as soon as we started scrimming together, as soon as we started practicing together, all those thoughts disappeared for me because our scrim results were fantastic. And having played in Pacific since before, I knew how hard it was to get have such good results in scrims. So my only real challenge as IGL was to translate these scrim results onto the stage.
And when we beat Team Secret in kickoff, I think all of us figured something out. And I think from then on, we've been able to perform on stage.”
[Interviewer] How would you say that the team's communication and the team synergy has evolved throughout the season?
“I think at the beginning, our comms were pretty messy. Sometimes you would have somebody saying something that wasn't really necessary at the time, or sometimes someone would say things in a verbose manner when they could say it much shorter.
So I think our comms at the beginning were quite messy, but over time, as we played more scrims and more officials, I think our comms got a lot better.
We understand now when somebody needs to focus on his aim, someone else would do more of the talking, and vice versa. So I think we developed a lot in that regard.”
Before parting ways with Munchkin, we asked him if there were any plans and expectations going into Champions. And also if he wanted to give a message to the fans. And he did have a few words to spare:
“It’s been a long and difficult journey this year. But we’re going to summon every last bit of strength that we have to perform in Champions.
I trust with all my heart my teammates and my coaching staff. So I know we're going to be well prepared heading into Champions. I'm confident that we're going to perform well.
And to all our fans supporting us, thank you always for supporting us all the way throughout this long journey.”
As Tiger Nation prepares for the ultimate challenge at Champions 2024, Munchkin’s words resonate with a blend of confidence and gratitude. This season has been a testament to their hard work, strategic foresight, and unbreakable team spirit.
With their eyes set on the biggest prize, Gen.G's journey is a compelling narrative of underdogs turned titans. Fans and competitors alike will be eagerly watching to see if they can continue their remarkable run and secure their place in VALORANT history.
Stay tuned to Strafe Esports for news and updates on the upcoming VALORANT Champions 2024.
Also follow the Strafe YouTube Channel for exclusive player interviews and press conferences.
Featured Image Source: Riot Games
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