We’re not satisfied at all: FunPlus Phoenix bow out of Champions 2023 after close series loss to T1

FunPlus Phoenix, representative from China, have been eliminated from Champions 2023. The Chinese roster had their second international run cut short after close losses to Evil Geniuses and T1. The 3rd seed from China lost to T1 in a close series that certainly could have gone the other way. Despite their domestic success, FPX was unable to translate that into tangible international results for their region this time.

Flying High

Unlike at previous international Valorant events, Chinese Valorant was now being taken seriously. And this could be seen in the immense surge of support for all three teams within the arena. EDG had proven at the previous event that they were serious contenders and when others saw the China qualifiers, what they saw was that EDG was not the only growing threat in the region.

Despite the success, FPX was not one of the Chinese rosters that enjoyed the success that came with the newfound recognition. Having faced downed Evil Geniuses as their round 1 opponents, FPX lost in large part due to many critical mistakes made during their mid-rounding, exposing their newness as a team. They then had a face off against T1, in which, they initially looked stellar against, however, were unable to maintain the momentum, falling eventually to a T1 on the comeback.

“We really need to be humble.”

In the post-game press conference, before FPX exited Champions 2023, they shared a few words with the press. Zhang “AAAAY” Yang spoke on how the team ‘really needed to be humble.’ He also commented on how ‘after this journey, it feels like [FPX] has a better understanding now towards the in-game fundamentals.’ Zhang “BerLIN” Bo-lin chimed in with a similar sentiment, stating that: ‘We’ve learned so much on the parts that our opponents did so well. We’ve learned from them, and on the parts that we didn’t manage to have as good of performances in. We really need to fix those kinds of mistakes, these issues inside the game.’

Liang “Lysoar” Youhao also said that ‘definitely, there were some parts [they] did not manage to do as well.’ For those parts, he said, ‘they definitely needed to make some improvement on in the future.’

In one of the rounds of their match against T1, “Lysoar” managed to deliver 4 incredible headshots with a sheriff on one of their eco-rounds. This play seemed to energize the squad and for a brief few rounds, we were treated to a glimpse of the roster’s potential when unleashed, and it looked terrifying. Speaking on it after, “Lysoar” agreed with the sentiment that it had ‘energized them.’ But he also was quick to state that in general, he always attempted to create positive actions in order to hype up his teammates. ‘So definitely I’m the hype man inside the team,’ he cheekily grinned.

Mirror to the Past, Window to the Future

Now with Champions 2023 in the rearview mirror, FPX reflected on their run, and whether there was a degree of satisfaction in what they had gained this time. Coach Deng “NaThanD” Senqiao had this to say: ‘So, for our goals, we’re definitely not satisfied with our results. Because it feels like if we had a better performance onstage, or had performed well, maybe we would still have had the chance. Maybe we could have made Playoffs. So, we’re not satisfied at all.’ He continued on to mentioned that the mindset they brought in and continued to hold, was that they would like to ‘learn more throughout this tournament because they still had time.’

He placed important on the need to ‘immerse what [FPX] had learned from the stronger teams, from the different regions, the other regions and strong teams, and incorporate that into their own playstyle.’ ‘So, yeah, we would like to learn more from strong teams like Fnatic and other teams. To see how they play and compare that playstyle with our own, just to try our best to make FPX a stronger team in the future,’ he concluded.

As final comforting words for his own players, “NaThanD” also had this to say: ‘After today’s loss, it feels like what we need to do is make a lot of adjustments or changers. There are so many parts we need to make improvements on. Yeah, definitely we left some regret here on this stage, but we don’t have to. We shouldn’t give up; we just need to perform even better in the future.’

Words for their Chinese Brethren

Despite their exit, EDward Gaming and Bilibili Gaming continue on in the tournament. “NaThanD” stated that: ‘Definitely while we didn’t manage to continue our run because we made mistakes inside of the game. Because of that, we didn’t manage to show a very good performance. So, I hope the other two teams from the Chinese Valorant can continue to go forwards in this tournament. “BerLIN” also spoke on how the strengths of the other two teams, BLG and EDG, were that they ‘can’t be stopped, their momentum.’ He also wished ‘good luck to his bros’ and hoped that ‘all the teams from the Chinese region can improve more in the future to be better and stronger teams in the future.’

“It could maybe even change your whole life.”

In one of the final questions directed to “BerLIN”, he was asked on his thoughts competing on the international stage. To that, he replied: ‘Obviously, Champions is not only a stage where you can show your own performance but is also this really great chance to prove yourself. It could maybe even change your whole life. So, even though we didn’t manage to take a game anyways, we have Champions every year, right? So, definitely for next year, we’re going to come back as a stronger FPX, and through this whole journey, we really learned a lot from super strong teams. Such as the in-game fundamentals and other stuff.'

'So, to be honest, I’m not that sad after the loss, because we learned something and also in the game against EG, it just felt like on the day I performed poorly. I didn’t manage to have a very good momentum. It feels like now, I have a very relaxed mindset. So, we’re going to come back stronger,' he affirmed.

FunPlusPhoenix has exited Champions 2023 in 13th-16th place after falling to T1 2-0 in the elimination series of Group B. Champions 2023 will resume on the 16th of August. Keep to date on Champions 2023 with Strafe Esports.

For more updates on Valorant Champions 2023, follow Valorant Champions Tour Twitter.

Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games