After an unfortunate exit today at the hands of Fnatic, Crws spoke to the press about what he thought his team’s failings were and why people should constantly keep an eye on the SEA region.
X10 wasn’t a big favourite for anyone coming into this event but actually turned some heads with some pretty impressive and strong performances against some of the best teams in the game. Do you think that SEA is ready to compete against the bigger teams in the world? Do you think they could turn some heads at Masters 3?
Written below is the transcript of the interview with Crws. In bold font are the questions from the media, while in the standard font is Crws’ answers.
What are your thoughts on the different regions play styles you’ve come up against so far?
It is really diverse and I think it adds a variety to the game. I really love it. I really like how each region plays the game, it’s new to us and it’s a good experience to us and it’s good for us to be grinding back home. It’s great, it’s new.
Do you think the quick style of play has hindered you from playing against teams like FNC?
Not really, I think they just had better aim. They knocked us off before we did any strats, they were on point today. That’s why it was hard for us to do anything today, especially on Icebox where they destroyed us in the first 15 seconds of the game.
Fans and analysts underestimated you, but you smashed expectations. How do you think that will motivate your region going into Masters 3?
Definitely, that was our goal. To prove we’ve got something in our pocket. Hopefully, everyone sees our region has got something that also makes our region a lot more competitive if we put up a good fight here, to be able to do well, to make the scene bigger in our region.
How much does the LAN experience affect your performance and head space?
Not too sure about the team, I really love LAN. I prefer it here, the vibe here is just… I’m a real gamer. It’s a boost for my own confidence, a boost for my gameplay. It makes me think faster here. Not too sure about my teammates, I think there are positive and negative effects, people react to the camera weirdly, so there’s also that.
Sorry about your loss. What are the teachings you take away from Masters?
The styles they play. Every team has a different style and uniqueness. That’s what I love about the game, it doesn’t bore me, there’s always something to look up to, it’s always fun. It makes us brighter, we’ll have more strats, we’ll have more comps. We can see how they do certain combinations with agents and how they amaze everyone.
Your goal was to bring attention to the region. What do you think SEA has to do to improve to go up the VALORANT hierarchy?
They need to focus more. There are not many professional players in SEA, they aren’t willing to put in the time and effort. I just hope in the future, that they get more exposure to VALORANT in the whole world, so we can have a bigger pool of players to pick from.
Is there anything you realised specifically you need to iron out for the next LAN event?
I’d say teamwork. The thing I think that made FNC the winners is that they have better teamwork, better communication and better aim, a bit. We were just not hitting shots as well, but their teamwork is so good, they all know what they want to do and know how to help each other. I’d say that’s why they won.
I want to talk about SEA Esports in general. The Philippines have great exposure in DOTA 2. Looking at DOTA 2 what do you feel like to get that level of competitiveness in SEA in VALORANT?
The game is really big. They know they can have the support in SEA to put in time and practice professionally, that’s why there’s more talent there. This is a new game, not everyone is sure to give everything to the game.
Even with your loss I think you’ve gained a lot of fans. I want you to tell us why we should keep on looking at SEA.
We always have something in our pocket. If today we hit our shots, the result might’ve been different. I just want them to keep an eye on us and others in the region because they can do what others did on stage today.
