VCT Masters Madrid Pre-Tournament Press Conference
The 8 best teams in the world have assembled in Madrid for the first Masters event of the year.
While each team’s journey thus far has been unique and no less arduous than the one before, they have all assembled now with one common goal in mind – to win Madrid. But only one team can win that privilege.
Benjyfishy: Seeking a New Challenge
Representing Team Heretics, Benjyfishy shook EMEA with a newly reforged Team Heretics. Having crafted a dedicated following in Fortnite, he sought to take his talents to a different game.
“I’m super happy I made the switch,” he affirmed. “It was quite a big risk, because I had quite a big audience in Fortnite, and I was still doing well competitively,” he admitted.
However, he reasoned that as an extremely competitive person, Fortnite just wasn’t cutting it enough competitively, and so he sought a new, more challenging experience.
And within a short period of time, he has not only grown in a veritable powerhouse, but he now stands at the helm of one of EMEA’s strongest contenders.
He also touched on Heretics’ surprising rise to power within EMEA, stating that people had just not “expected much of [Heretics]”.
Moreover, he revealed that Heretics had also been one of the earliest EMEA teams to trial new players, meaning that they had their pick of the crop of upcoming Tier 2 talents.
“We got everyone we wanted,” he revealed. “We basically got all our first picks.”
“People did not have high expectations because they did not know how good these players are.”
He also took the time to praise Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius, noting the player’s proactiveness during the mid-game and contributions to calling that led to crucial round victories.
Lastly, Benjy noted the biggest difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 was just “the number of eyes on you.”
The competition did not get noticeably harder as he had already been scrimming with Tier 1 teams before getting into Heretics, it was just the additional scrutiny that came with a bigger stage as he put it.
TenZ: A Triumphant Return Three Years in the Making
Coming in for Sentinels is none other than TenZ, arguably the most popular and simultaneously the most scrutinized player in the world.
After an explosive debut in VALORANT following his switch from Counter-Strike, for the next three years, he was largely considered a mega talent that for some reason just could not deliver on results.
Now with a new Sentinels roster, for the first time since 2021, TenZ had returned to the international stage.
“I think the main factor for why we play better this season/year is because us as a team is gelling a lot better both in and out of the game,” he replied. “We are able to have a specific team identity and we understand that.”
He also compared his previous heights with the former 2021 Sentinels roster and the current one.
“In that previous iteration, we definitely thrived in the chaos, and found our own identity during that meta, that’s what made us really strong,” he said. “In this current iteration, we understand and trust each other. Recently, this current iteration of Sentinels has been giving me nostalgic feelings of confidence.”
TenZ also spoke about his evolution as a player, transitioning from a Jett player into Omen and support. “I feel most comfortable when I’m allowed to be more free.”
However, as the years went on, he found his freedom on Jett narrowing more and more, resulting in him struggling to thrive in the new, more methodical meta in an era where Jetts were solo space creators. “I was having a hard time requesting for utility to come out and support me while I was kind of focused on my crosshair,” he revealed.
“Now it feels better because I can support others and play around them, and kind of see opportunities around them rather than seeking them out first.”
ForsaKeN: A Desire to Re-Prove Themselves
Paper Rex suffered a heavy blow over the off-season, losing their star space-maker and duelist in Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie due to military service.
While they did bring on an electric replacement in the form of Cahya “Monyet” Nugraha, the former roster had brought a special bond and chemistry to the stage that is not easily replicable.
Thus, they were noticeably weaker compared to previous tourneys, missing a portion of their fiery x-factor that they had always delivered on.
“I think the roster change had affected a lot. [Monyet] had to swap to Raze and it’s not his comfortable agent yet, but I think he will become a very good player.”
ForsaKeN also spoke on his consistency over the years, stating that they always “believe in each other and try to have fun in every tournament.”
The no-pressure approach has clearly worked for Paper Rex in the past, delivering high level results despite their laidback approach to high-pressure.
This is in large part due to their high preparation and immense skill level as a roster, allowing them to approach difficult tournaments in high spirits.
He, however, rated the team’s current level at 6 or 7 out of 10, pinning it down to the difficulties they have experienced in integrating their new duelist with the old synergy.
To bring back that level they previously had, he affirmed that the biggest factor would be bringing back the “vibes” from the previous roster.
ZmjjKK: No Regrets
Representing EDward Gaming is none other than ZmjjKK, the Chinese player who took the world by storm last year.
Having dominated another domestic event, ZmjjKK and EDG now look for another run at an international event.
Amidst talks of his own team’s expectations for the event, he touched on the level of the other Chinese teams in his region/league, saying:
“I think it’s a big possibility that a lot of the teams from the CN league will come to international tournaments because every team there now has their own strategy and playstyle.”
Speaking also of the recent exhaustion from playing so many off-season and Chinese events, he reassured that “both in body and mind condition”, they aimed to keep things relaxed, making sure that when they face their opponents, they are able to deliver a 100%.
In anticipation of their upcoming Paper Rex rematch, he remarked that they were focused on “doing their own thing and playing their own thing”.
“I feel like we didn’t prepare things especially well last time. This time when we face them, I feel like we are the challenger, and we want to play our own thing well. We want to solve this, kind of nightmare, and we want to solve it this time.”
Speaking on his own personal performance, he cited his motivation with a unique approach – treating each game as if it was his last one on the international stage.
To him, he said that he never knew if this might be the last time he ever managed to make an international event, so he wanted to treasure each moment and play his heart out.
“This time I’m not afraid of people calling me Kang-shoot, because I have improved on my Vandal so much. Although some people call me one of the best OP players in the world, but this time I just want to release all of my pressure and treat myself as a nobody.”
Saadhak: A Veteran Amidst Rapid Evolution
LOUD make another international event, and at the helm is Saadhak, a veteran who remains amidst a rapidly shifting scene.
LOUD’s path to Madrid was not particularly rough, and yet their continued consistent excellence is itself a remarkable quality to maintain despite losing aspas.
“Throughout the years, I have seen a lot of teams come and go. But now I would say team VALORANT is the most balanced it has ever been in a while. I think VALORANT is super competitive right now. It’s a game where every region could win.”
He also shared his excitement at having been challenged by Evil Geniuses at Kickoff, having had their new Ascent composition challenged by the reigning world champions. “It’s always good to get anti-stratted,” he admitted. “Because you learn so much.”
“I knew that since they picked Ascent, they picked it because they were confident. But going into Icebox, I knew it was us, because you know, haha, Deadlock. So, in a way, they wanted to fight and we fight the good fight.”
Touching on the new experimentation that LOUD had been doing, he admitted that he disliked falling back on “old styles.”
“People kept using things from last year and it didn’t go as well as people that are innovating and using different characters and different agents. So, if things don’t go well, I think we just have to keep improving what we have. Because giving up is just showing a sign of weakness and we don’t like that,” he affirmed. “We have a good plan, if it doesn’t work, we just have to keep working at it until it works.”
Magnum: Fuelled by the Past
Taking over the IGL responsibilities on Karmine Corp, the French organization has rocketed to the top of the league almost overnight in true zero to hero fashion.
With a fresh new lineup, KC overturned not just some of the strongest names in the league, but also Fnatic, the reigning dominant force in EMEA.
The last time Magnum set foot on an international stage was all the way back in 2021, with Fnatic at the time. Fnatic lost to Sentinels in the finals, leading to North America lifting the first VALORANT international title.
“It feels great to be back,” he stated. “To be honest, each loss gives you something else. Each team teaches you something else. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. I’m grateful for every experience.”
Magnum spoke on the growth of the team, their learnings on how to be good teammates, how to support one another and communicated with one another. “If you don’t respect one another, it’s going to have an impact on the game.”
Having worked alongside some of the foremost IGLs in the EMEA region, Magnum spoke on how he worked to forge his own style of leadership for this Karmine roster.
“I wanted to avoid the things which I didn’t like from Boaster and Enzo. Each IGL has their strong sides and weak sides, so that was the first thing – try to learn from their mistakes. The biggest thing I took from Boaster and Enzo is that they’re just insanely nice humans, so […] if you’re nice, it’s a much easier job to do.”
Munchkin: A Bold New Beginning
Finding success on another Korean roster, Munchkin delivers for his team in the pre-tournament press conference. He praised the coaching staff’s ability especially to prop up the team with their support.
“My playstyle has not really changed over the years,” he admitted. “But the coaching staff is able to cover for any weaknesses we have.”
“The details are really key. It’s about how we are able to use utility in a given situation.”
Speaking on their new rookie pickup, Munchkin spoke about how there were aspects that [Karon] needed to pick up from them and at the same time, how there were aspects that they could learn from Karon.
“It’s not as important whether or not you feel nervous. It’s more important that you enjoy the stage.”
BerLIN: Stronger than the Last
Returning fledgling challengers FPX returns to the international stage with renewed determination. IGL BerLIN represented them at the pre-tournament press conference. FPX recently made a roster change and it has already paid dividends domestically with an improved performance.
“I feel like it depends on the meta,” he replied. “With Skye, we could play more utility comps and double smoke compositions. But Life is a really good player, and we have very good team synergy now.”
“I felt on the road to Madrid, there were no challenges. Things went smoothly. Maybe our only challenge was our vacation. We had a long break where we did not manage to play. I also feel like Life is a very experienced player and we did not have to spend a lot of time to get good synergy.”
“Every time we attend an international event, we are here to learn,” he said. “Right now we want to show something different, maybe this time it’s time for other teams to learn from us.”
FPX’s initial debut at Champions 2023 did not go as smoothly as would be hoped, however, they kept their selves composed and adopted an open attitude to the experience, taking it all as an enriching moment to better themselves against high-level opponents.
Despite having not won a single series internationally, FPX breezed into the finals of VCT China Kickoff with record levels of confidence. BerLIN referenced this new-found confidence by stating how the losses had in fact given them the experience to compete more efficiently domestically.
“It feels like 2.5 times better compared to last year.”
The addition of Australian player Autumn also presented a challenge for the burgeoning squad, with the player having to learn Mandarin and there being communication issues at the start. However, this has improved over time.
For all the coverage for VCT Masters Madrid, follow Strafe Esports. Follow the official Valorant Champions Tour Twitter/X page to keep up to date with all things Madrid!
Credit: Riot Games
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