“I have a lot of people around me to support me,” C9 jakee details his early success in VALORANT

It's no secret that Cloud9 is on a roll in VCT Americas. With only one loss after Week 5, the team that was once mired with uncertainty has proven to be a mighty force in the league. The shift from the former to the latter is partly thanks to newcomer Jake "jakee" Anderson.

He has done his job as a Controller player and then some. He helped his team take a huge victory over Sentinels and spoke with esports.gg following the series about his time so far in VALORANT. There's no shortage of support that has given him the tools to succeed.

"The team's firing on all cylinders at this point. In terms of the team as a whole, what's going on that just has everything clicking right now?"

jakee: "I feel like it's our practice, us putting in the work and making sure we're trying to do the stuff that works in practice and don't do the stuff that doesn't work in practice. We're making sure to improve on different aspects and we're not too one-dimensional. Teams can just watch our VOD and then counter-strat us.

He has done his job and then some as the Controller player for Cloud9 VALORANT. And after the team's recent win over Sentinels, he had plenty to say to esports.gg. He's got a lot of support behind him, knows exactly what the team is made of, and is ready to finish the regular season strong.

"So, every single week, we're making a change, something small. It could just be that we smoke here instead of smoking A Main. It's just small changes every single week that makes our game look completely different and I think that's what I'd attribute most of our success to. Alongside our willingness to not get complacent and continue to practice despite us winning most games."

"And for you personally, what's driving your success?"

jakee: "I have a lot of people around me to support me, including my girlfriend, my parents back home, and a lot of the people that I was in college with. A lot of friends that I've made throughout esports, and I'd say even the people that come into my stream and just say, 'Hi, you're such a good player, blah blah blah.'

"That stuff means the world to me and seeing that I have the support behind me, and even the support staff like the managers and coaches we have at Cloud9, I think all of it is really nice. We create a really good team environment and us having fun is probably what contributes the most to my success. Just us enjoying the game."

"I spoke with mCe following the NRG series. He said you've brought a lot of positive and fresh energy to the team. I'd like to ask your thoughts on that. What do you feel is your most impactful addition to Cloud9?"

jakee: "For me, I feel like I offer a lighthearted, having fun type of attitude. Especially when we're down sometimes in scrims. This week, I don't think we won a single scrim. I'll keep it real, but even if we're losing scrims, it doesn't really matter as long as you win your matches.

"And when you're losing scrims, it's hard to keep a smile on your face. It's hard to be happy. So, me and Jordan (Zellsis) are just trying to be happy and bring up the mood for the rest of the team. Keep us focused on improving despite us losing in scrims.

"We just keep on getting better because of that. Simply put, that's probably one of our biggest strengths as players. Obviously, we're able to shoot our guns well on the server, but keeping the mood high is really important in Tier 1."

"Then on the flipside of that. Break down each of your teammates and your coaches. What kind of impact have they had on your journey as a VALORANT pro thus far?"

jakee: "I'd say leaf, Xeppaa, and Zellsis, they're all veterans, including mCe. And anytime I make a small mistake, it could be that I didn't place a molly here or I didn't smoke well enough. They always harp on it. They make sure I understand that I made a mistake and they make sure I do better for next time.

"But on the flipside, they also praise me for when I do a really good play. If I kill four in a situation where I should have gotten zero or I play my molly and win us around. Small stuff where you're being let known that you made a mistake. But also when you do well it's reinforced and you keep on wanting to do well.

"And runi, our IGL, has been super impactful in pointing out these flaws as well. Making sure we continue to get better, calling really well against different teams, and especially when we get into the groove of things. I think we'll just continue to get better because of all the small additions. Despite how small they may be, they end up making a big impact on everyone as players on our team."

"After this victory over Sentinels, you've beaten every NA team in VCT Americas. Where would you rank them all in terms of the challenge they gave the team?"

jakee: "Obviously, I'd put us at first and then second, I'd put NRG. I think despite their loss to us, they'll show up stronger with ardiis being more on Jett, more on the Duelist, and even on some maps just making a small change to Sage like we saw on Bind.

"I'd probably put 100 Thieves at third. They're a good team. but it just depends on the day whether they show up. It's a mental game for them I feel like. And then I'd put Sentinels at fourth. I think once they get more experience with Marved, I think they could be second. For fifth, it'd be EG, because they're just not showing what they're truly capable of right now."

"Usually, I like to ask a few questions about the match itself that just took place. There's not much to say other than it was pretty straightforward and dominant by C9. So, I'll give you a bit of an open-ended question. What would you like to say about the series versus Sentinels?"

jakee: "Since we hadn't played Lotus in quite some time, we weren't scrimming it as much. We were a little bit on edge about what we wanted to do, but we decided to just play to our strengths and make sure we're playing our duels correctly.

"What really mattered is that pANcada and Marved, they like to play like a lurky style on both the Sentinel and smokes. So, what was really important was shutting down their lurks early and being aware of them when we didn't shut them off early.

"So, putting them in a place where they couldn't get as much impact on their lurks was super, super important to beat a team like Sentinels. I think that was vital in our win against them. We showed up in dominant form and were just peeking Marved, because we know he's going to be solo. We know he is going to be lurking and we just punished him early."

"Of course, anything can happen in this game, but the rest of the regular league schedule doesn't look too hard on you guys. What are you looking forward to most about the remaining weeks before playoffs?"

jakee: "I think our last remaining hard team, Leviatán. They show a really disciplined structure where even in 3v4's or 2v4's, they're instantly saving and I think that's a double-edged sword for them. So, I think we could beat them based on their discipline.

"It's good and bad in its own ways, because saving, sometimes it prevents individuality in a 3v4. I think that situation is still winnable. So, watching their VOD's, I'm seeing that they're saving some rounds where I think we could have gone for that.

"If I was in that 3v4 with say Zellsis and Xeppaa, I would've gone for that. I feel like them being that disciplined creates a lack of individuality at some points. And so, I think we could beat them and maybe even go 8-1 in the league, because I believe MIBR and KRÜ are going to be fine for us."

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