Ibubuhos ni Loic “effys” Sauvageau ng Version1 ang lahat sa Valorant Championship Tour (VCT) Stage 2 Masters sa Reykjavik, Iceland.
Tinalo ng North American squad ang mga Japanese region representatives, Crazy Racoon sa kanilang unang international debut match. Ipinanalo ng Version1 ang parehong games sa Ascent at Icebox matapos pigilan ang dalawang comeback attempts ng Japanese squad.
Lamang ang North American players sa close rounds
Ipinaliwanag ni effys kung paano naka-clutch sa close rounds ang Version1 sa parehong mapa: “This is where we shine, I think in NA especially — [in] these scrappy rounds and these good mid-round calls, because we have experienced IGLs (in-game-leader) like Anthony “vanity” Malaspina.”
Sa Ascent, muntik nang magpa-overtime ang Crazy Raccoon matapos manalo ng 6 na rounds sa ikalawang half. Sa huling round, nagawa ng Version1 na makapag-clutch matapos magsabi ni vanity na mag-full rotate papunta sa A-site matapos ma-deny sa B-main.
26 seconds na lang ang natitirang oras nang tumakbo papuntang A-site ang Version1 para maitanim ang spike. Pinuwersa ng North American squad ang pagkuha ng site at gumawa ng magandang post-plant play, kung saan ginamit nila ang kanilang numbers advantage.
Pinuri ni Version1 effys si vanity sa kanyang mabilis na decision making, “He knew exactly what to do in this moment and we trust him 100%. So, as soon as he says something, there is no hesitation. There are no second guesses. That really helps in tense situations. When you don’t second guess, you – more often than not – come out on top.”
“We have a lot of experience in these scrappy situations, like a lot of rounds are like this in NA. So, I think that gives us an edge in these tight rounds over less experienced players,” dagdag ni Version1 effys.
Dalawang controllers ang kailangan sa Icebox
Sa Icebox, pinuri ni Version1 effy ang attacker side ng Crazy Raccoon. “How they were abusing our aggressive [agent] composition was surprising. An, they found ways to counter our defender side really quickly. In NA, teams usually take a few rounds to adapt. Right at the start of the pistol round, [Crazy Racoon] instantly knew how to abuse us.”
Ipinaliwanag din ni Version1 effys kung bakit di sila gumagamit ng Astra sa Icebox. “I’ll be honest, I think Icebox is the map where the meta has changed the least because I don’t think Astra is strong on Icebox. There are a lot of different choke points, and it’s hard to use your orbs efficiently. This is why we don’t use Astra on it. We just don’t feel she’s powerful enough on it.”
Sa halip, mas gusto ni Version1 effys at ng kanyang teammates na gumamit ng Viper dahil malakas ang kanyang walls sa Icebox. “It’s a very open map and having another controller just doesn’t do the job. You need Viper to block mid, to block B, to block all the choke points. That makes the Viper pretty strong and teams play a lot more post-plant. They’ll go into a site, plant the bomb, then play double mollies with KJ and Viper. Shock darts, Raze’s [Paint Shells]. I think that’s how it shifted when Viper got buffed.”
Pananaw ni Version1 effys sa susunod nilang makakaharap, ang Team Liquid
Nakatakdang harapin ng Version1 ang European powerhouse na Team Liquid sa Day 2 ng kompetisyon. Nang tanungin tungkol sa nagaganap na North America versus Europe rivalry, sumagot si Version1 effys na wala silang nararamdamang pressure sa kanilang panig.
“We’re the underdogs, we’re coming in with a sub. So, there’s not much pressure on us. We’re just going to go in and play our game, play confident,” paliwanag nya. “We haven’t really prepared anything special for them. We’re going to keep it simple and adapt to what they’re doing.”
Lalabanan ng Version1 ang Team Liquid sa May 26, 1:30 a.m. GMT+8. Mapapanood ang laban live sa Valorant Twitch at YouTube channels.
