Version1 and NUTURN Gaming were fiercely interlocked in their three-game series in the second round of the upper bracket in VCT Masters 2: Reykjavik, but after going the full distance, it was the reigning champions of Korea who walked away victorious as they won in Split to then face Sentinels on May 28 for a spot in the grand finals at Valorant’s first international LAN event.
Following that series, V1’s Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, who compiled a 59/45/12 KDA and team-high 232 ACS with Killjoy across its three maps, engaged with the media for a press conference to talk about the defeat, what NUTURN did to orchestrate their compact showing, and how it will affect his team’s run in Iceland going forward.
Both you and Sentinels have made NA proud so far in this tournament. Is there any regional solidarity as the NA teams?
Zellsis: I think we both came here to do well obviously as individual teams, but at the end of the day, we represent NA as a region so I think we both want each other to do well. That’s about it, I think.
It doesn’t even look like you guys are playing with a stand-in. How did you all prepare to allow Jamal “jammyz” Bangash to integrate so smoothly with the team?
Zellsis: I think we have a good core/system that we like to play and I think it’s very easy for someone to come in and join the lineup and fit into the role, especially if they already played. Like jammyz does, he played Viper before, so I think it was just easy. He came in, we got him up to speed a little bit, and I think the rest of us are kind of playing how we should be playing and we’re hoping to keep playing that way.
Do you believe NUTURN Gaming underperformed in Game 1 or were you guys just better on Haven?
Zellsis: I think we were just better on Haven. I think when they came back on Ascent, we got sloppy, complacent and uncomfortable. I think they played well. Shoutout to NUTURN, they’re a good team, good players, but I think we got comfortable and took the 7-2 advantage we had in rounds and got complacent and they capitalized on it.
With Split, we were up 12-10. We were winning rounds. They were winning rounds. We knew their gameplan and we just didn’t capitalize on it, so it was a big mistake by us.
What team or region has impressed you the most and what aspect of the gameplay really stands out to you?
Zellsis: The Asian regions. They impressed me the most. I didn’t expect them to come in and do so well. I think NA is on top, even though we just lost. I think we’re the best region so far. I don’t know if you can really call a region the best right now, especially with the format of this tournament, but I think NA and then–we’ll have to see about EU–but I think the Asian regions was the most surprising for me.
After beating Team Liquid and playing NUTURN, what are your thoughts on Japan, Korea, and any other regions and their playstyle?
Zellsis: I think they need to adapt a little bit to the meta. I think they run double duelists with Breach on every single map and I don’t think that’s really good. I know that’s how they play and they’re probably dominating their regions with that, but I don’t think it has long-term stability. I think the most they have to do is probably change their comps and practice a little bit and adapt to the meta.
You’ve often shown admirable stamina in Game 3s. What was the difference on this occassion that allowed NUTURN to gain control of bomb sites?
Zellsis: I think they just popped sites with their comp and they got the kills, whereas we didn’t get the kills. I don’t really think there’s too much into it besides they have a comp to pop sites. They got the kills. We didn’t.
V1 has looked like one of the most tactically organized teams in the tournament. What makes Anthony “Vanity” Malaspina such a great in-game leader?
Zellsis: I think Vanity can adapt. Whether it be early of the round, middle of the round, or end of the round, he’s always thinking about the game, he’s always adapting to what they’re doing, and he’s always taking information from the players. I just think he reads the game really well and he plays a lot so that makes him one of the best IGLs.
I’ve heard from many players that this tournament hasn’t done enough to show which region is the best in Valorant. What do you think is needed to determine which one is the best region?
Zellsis: I think the tournament lays a good basis for the regions. Obviously, a lot of people brought their all for this, but the problem with not deciding who’s the best in this tournament, and I assume this goes for all players, is you only get to play two Bo3s before you’re eliminated, right? So if you lose one Bo3, you can lose another and then you’re out, whereas you won’t be able to play against everyone. I think that’s the reason why players think that this tournament is not the best that decides which region is the best so you can only take a basis of each game and you can conclude from there.
What were the biggest mistakes today and what did you learn from them?
Zellsis: I think we just didn’t adapt well to their comp, especially on Split. On Ascent, it was just on us. We got complacent. We let them get comfortable. We threw some rounds. They took Ascent, whatever, and then we went to Split and I think we didn’t adapt well enough to their comp. We knew what they were doing. We just kind of played the same way and that was about it.
Sentinels are the favourites to win it all. Since both of you are from NA and had a fair share of games against each other, how do you actually think you match up to them if you make it to the grand finals?
Zellsis: I’m not really too sure about how we think against Sentinels, NUTURN, EU, whatever. I think we’re taking it match by match especially with a stand-in and the little practice we had. But I mean, if we play against Sentinels, it’ll just be a brawl. All of our games have been close, so I would hope that we play them close, whether it is a win or loss. I don’t know if being from NA and playing them several times [gives us] an advantage or anything like that. They’re all skilled players and played really well. Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan is a good IGL, so yeah.
This series was laden with various close calls and clutch plays. What was a moment in particular that you wished, had it gone your way, the series would’ve tilted decisively to V1?
Zellsis: I think there was a lot of 2v2, 2v3, or 3v2 situations I was in and I just whiffed or I didn’t play them properly. My teammates played really well. Again, I think I’m very hard on myself as a player, so my mistakes in the game were unforgivable and I think that costed us. On Split, there were a few rounds where I could’ve set up better as Killjoy. Maybe if I had a little bit more practice or put a lot more work in, I think we could’ve won the game from just that and that’s all I have to say.
