“I would like to face GenG again” T1 Xeta talks about team he wants to face
At VCT Pacific week 6, T1 took on Detonation FocusMe. In a best of three series, T1 took down Detonation Focus Me on three maps. With the win, T1 secured a strong position in the VCT Pacific leaderboard. After the win, Strafe interviewed T1’s Son “Xeta” Seon-ho. In an exclusive one-on-one interview, T1 Xeta talks about the game, moving to Korea, clutches and team to face.
Q. Congratulations on your win, What are your thoughts about the match and the upcoming weeks?
T1 Xeta: “I feel good about the win. I think we kept our composure and that’s why we won. Our mental was strong even when we lost the second map. The second map was unlucky I feel”
Q. It was a really good game. Starting on the first map, you secured a strong start but could not convert it into a decisive half. What do you think went wrong there?
T1 Xeta: “On the first map, we didn’t really think we struggled. We just made a few mistakes, probably communications issues but I don’t think we struggled.”
Q. Where do you think you lost the second map, Split?
T1 Xeta: “I think we couldn’t abuse their Sage. We also did not figure out where omen played, giving him a chance to make plays and I think we should’ve countered him better.”
Q. Any thoughts on the final map, Fracture?
T1 Xeta: “Their composition was changed on Fracture compared to when we scrimmed them. Their composition today was more like Fnatic’s. The composition was something special today and we had to adapt to it. And it worked for us”
Q. A lot of times, You come out clutch bailing T1 out from critical situations. While you have always been clutch, it leads to T1 relying on your clutches a lot. Does that add a lot of pressure on you?
T1 Xeta: “Oh yeah definitely, They do come at important rounds and are under a lot of pressure. They do make me more confident when we do. And usually if I think we can do it, we just go for it”
Q. Following up on the question, How do you maintain your composure during the clutches?
T1 Xeta: “I basically analyse the situation and try to find what play has the highest chance. So I kinda focus on those chances, to find timings or gaps and try to win it. And I think that’s why I am good in clutches”
Q. Do you think T1’s reliance on clutches might backfire on you?
T1 Xeta: “I think long term we don’t want to rely on clutches, we want to focus on team game and end the round before we are forced into a clutch”
Q. You have secured a strong position in the league, but you still have some pretty important games to play in the upcoming weeks. How do you plan to tackle the upcoming weeks?
T1 Xeta: “ We will focus on the comps and solutions for the comps. We will prepare for the teams and work on the problems inside our teams like communications and team synergy”
Q. What do you think you need to work on the most to win the upcoming week?
T1 Xeta: “Team Communication and Team play”
Q. You have been playing multiple roles these days.How are you processing these role changes?
T1 Xeta: “I think the roles are kinda similar, Controllers just control the map and initiators set the team up. In both the cases the roles set the duelist up and in that way they really suit my playstyle”
Q. Do you think Harbor is closer to an initiator than a controller?
T1 Xeta: “Depends on how you use it”
Q. What was the thought process behind picking up Carpe?
T1 Xeta: “Valorant has a lot of abilities, So Carpe is a legendary Overwatch player so we thought Carpe will be a great addition to the team. As long as he invests time, he will be an insane player so we picked him up without thinking”
Q. After playing two years in NA, what made you switch to T1. Were you homesick?
T1 Xeta: “It’s not about being homesick. We wanted to build a Korean team and at the same time T1 offered me to join their roster. T1 is a big and honoured Korean organisation so it was an easy decision to choose T1. I actually wanted to apply the things learned in NA in Korea so I wanted to share with them the thinking process so that we can play better when we play with a Korean roster”
Q. What do you think is the difference between NA and APAC? Is T1 closer to NA to the Pacific?
T1 Xeta: “I think both play styles are different. NA playstyle is more defaulty, more loose. While the Pacific relies a lot on strats. NA has a lot of variety like Pacific and EMEA too”
Q. Key difference between NA and Korean Culture
T1 Xeta: “NA has more freedom. Korea has a set structure. Most teams want to play rounds inside the structure and methodically. While the strength of NA is they do not abide by the methods and play freely and want to adapt. And APAC needs to adapt more”
Q. Which team do you want to face the most?
T1 Xeta: “I would like to face GenG again”
Q. Which team would you like to play internationally? Would you be ready to face Cloud9, your old team?
T1 Xeta: “Personally yeah, I would love to meet Cloud9 and my old teammates. In general I want to meet LOUD, we took a lot of ideas from them and they are leading the Valorant scene right now so yeah, I want to face LOUD”
VCT Pacific Week 7 starts 6th May. Follow VCT Pacific's Twitter for all the updates regarding VCT Pacific.
Credits: Riot Games // VCT Pacific
You can also follow VCT Pacific on Strafe