“I think everyone on this team has the potential to be the best in their role,” C0M on LEV working out the kinks

Leviatán was a team with plenty of questions heading into the 2024 season. They weren't questions about how good the team can be, however. LEV has shown plenty of promise so far, but LOUD being LOUD put Corbin "C0M" Lee and company into an elimination game.

We talked to the Initiator specialist after the tight match against the 2022 VALORANT Champions. He gave us some insight into the potential he feels the team has, the tough compositions of LOUD he went up against, and more.

"You guys have looked good, but so has LOUD. This one felt like a boxing match that went the distance. Do you think them having a more tenured core on the team gave them that stamina to get over the finish line?"

C0M: " I guess you can use that as an excuse, but I'm not going to use that for us, to be honest. I feel like overall, we played better than them strategically. It's just that whenever it came to an anti-eco or something, we would miss a crucial kill, and then they would hit their crucial kill. So, maybe that, but no, I'm not going use it as an excuse."

"Well, you’ve looked super comfortable on the team. Last year, you were with the guys you had played with for a while. Now, you’re on a team where multiple players’ first language isn’t English. It’s not as familiar as EG was. Where does that comfort come from?"

C0M: "I feel like we're still getting comfortable. We're learning every match, but I think it's more about the confidence of what I've done and of my craft. Where I just have a lot of confidence in the work I've put in. And I mean, I'm giving everything to this game, and every single team, I'm making sure to prepare as much as I can. I'm super proud of how everyone's been reacting to everything."

"And I have to ask about the move from one master Duelist to another, Demon1 to aspas. What makes aspas different from Demon1, and how does that affect your role in supporting him?"

C0M: "I'm not sure honestly how to answer that question. I think aspas is a very in-your-face Duelist, from what I've seen so far. He'll always dash in for you and make sure we're all good. He has pre-match prep and everything that I've seen from him so far is super unique. I like it a lot, honestly.

"He sheds a lot of confidence on the team, too. But yeah, I can't really, like I've said before, I can't really compare the two. Because I need to just play like I can, and you just can't compare the two. I think they're totally different entities, in my opinion."

"Okay, well you’re known as a top tier Sova player, but the maps have often called for you on Skye so far. What are your thoughts on her after the changes and how does she fit into LEV’s style this year?"

C0M: "I think Skye is still good for info. I feel like a lot of these rounds, I know generally what's happening just based off util. I think not having the extra refresh of your flash is kind of hard here and there. Even late rounds, even on Split, I might not have had one. I need to be better at managing it. I think overall. I'm still like getting used to Skye. I'm getting good at it, but I could be a lot better. I'm hoping I can keep improving on it."

"So, we’ve seen some unusual comps from LOUD. Heavy flashes, like Phoenix and Breach. What kind of counters did you guys try to cook up against that?"

C0M: "We watched all the VODs and stuff. Watched how they did it before. They did a good job at changing it up here and there. I think overall, just making sure we're calling that we're anti-flash, make sure we're playing well, and grouped together to where we know exactly what's happening around the map. Trying to get information on who is where."

"What made those compositions hard to overcome?"

C0M: "I feel like we kind of played into them a little bit. We let them execute their game plan a good amount, and we weren't as disruptive as we probably wanted to be. I think they just use their comps well, like how all of their util was thrown out. I don't really know what else to say about it."

"It’s still very early in the year, but you’ve got a solid victory against 100 Thieves under your belt. I’ll ask about yourself first, before I ask your thoughts on the team. Where do you feel your playing level is at right now compared to the potential it could reach this year?"

C0M: "In this last series, I played maybe like 70% of what like I normally am, to be honest. But overall, I feel like this last match, we showed a lot better face than we did against 100T. So, we know where we can be when we're at maybe 70 or 80%.

"It's just about how we improve those rounds, the anti-ecos and all that stuff. Just throwing stuff out, knowing how people react to stuff. I think we're improving a lot very quickly. I think it shows a lot in our matches. It's just winning the crucial rounds here and there."

"And what about LEV as a whole? What do you think the team’s potential looks like compared to what we’ve been shown in these opening matches?"

C0M: "We're still working on being on the same page sometimes. Which is fine. I think that this is exactly how the old EG was, whenever we first came out .We're kind of learning the game together and creating our own identity.

"Little by little, we'll keep realizing our identity more, and people know their role they play in each round. Which is pretty much the same thing we did with EG, to be honest. I think everyone on this team has the potential to be the best in their role. So, once we get our foot in the door of that, I think we'll be good."

"And lastly, your thoughts on the upcoming elimination match with Sentinels. What do you expect, what are you looking forward to?"

C0M: "I'm super excited to play against them. It's like a big clout matchup, honestly. Aa lot of people, whenever you play Sentinels, everyone's watching. And it's an elimination game. I've been in a lot of that situation, like last season when I was 1-4 and playing an elimination game.

"You kind of play to your potential and play to your best. I think that's where a lot of people perform at their best and you really get to see how their players react to the pressure and how we react to the pressure."

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