DRG TvirusLuke is grateful for the experience of VCT Masters Shanghai

VCT Masters Shanghai has seen two of the year's Ascension promotion teams make their first international tournament. Dragon Ranger Gaming of VCT China has unfortunately been eliminated, but the experience was more than enough for Chen "TvirusLuke" Cheng-ching.

DRG put up quite the fight against EMEA's FUT Esports, but were ultimately sent out of the tournament. Following the series, we chatted with the DRG Duelist about playing at home and how the FUT matchup went down.

"The obvious first question is, how has it been playing in front of a home crowd at Masters Shanghai during your first international VCT event?"

TvirusLuke: "Really excited about it, and we feel less pressure because it's a similar environment. It is the same venue as VCT China."

"DRG and G2 are the only teams promoted from Ascension so far to make an international tournament this year. With them advancing to playoffs and you being eliminated, do you think Chinese VALORANT still has some catching up to do overall?"

TvirusLuke: "I think that every team needs progress. The other teams from our league system have more experience in international tournaments than us. We have less experience and we can play that close with teams have already been to international tournaments a few times. I think it's totally acceptable for us."

"Despite the elimination, what are some positive things you’ll take away from the team’s time in the tournament?"

TvirusLuke: "The biggest takeaway we have is the experiences in-game, because usually, we only can play scrims with teams from Asian areas. In this tournament, we actually have scrims with teams from EMEA or Americas. It's really nice to have a chance to play scrims with them, learning from them, and experience their play style, and the learning experiences from them."

"So, as a Duelist, you’re up against some of the best Duelist players in the world. In this match, you went against cNed, who has been a top player for a long time. Did you find yourself trying to keep up with him at all?"

TvirusLuke: "First of all, I think we have really different play styles. For cNed, his teammates will help him a lot, use their utility to help him to get in the site. But for me, I play with more energy, and I'm the one to get the firepower from the our point.

"And then, what can I learn from cNed? I would like to say, when he was on defense side, his ability to hide where he is and to take advantage for his team. And when he was on attacking side, he gives a lot of pressure. He fakes well, and make sus think that he is going to go A, but actually, he's going to go B.

"In this international tournament, I have met a lot of incredible players and incredible teams. It's very good, and I really appreciate having a chance to play with them. I'm really happy I can learn from them in this international tournament."

"Well, you guys started to come back on both maps and even took it to overtime on Ascent. Unfortunately, you weren’t able to complete those comebacks. What would you say was the hardest thing about playing FUT?"

TvirusLuke: "I think the hardest part in today's match was that every time they made a little mistake, we didn't have the opportunity to punish them, but every time we made a little mistake, they catch the chance to punish us. So, for us, I think we have to deal with how to catch that chance in every matchup, and how to deal with that pressure in the game."

"And with the early exit from the tournament, is there a team or player you really wanted to face that you didn’t get the chance to?"

TvirusLuke: "Personally, I wanted to face against G2, because we both got into franchising by winning Ascension. So, I want to see what we'd be capable of, from these two leagues, seeing as we both won Ascension."

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