Faze Babybay: “It’s really nice to know that if I’m not performing to where everyone expects me to perform, we can still pull a dub out & in the fashion that we did”

The story of Andrej "Babybay" Francisty's on FaZe Clan is one with mixed results but one consistent - his stellar play. In an interview after dispensing of 100 Thieves 2-1 in the VCT North American playoffs, Babybay spoke on finally being surrounded by a team that can pick him up when he underperforms and making his first VCT top four since March of 2021.

"It feels really good. I haven't been top four, in what, over a year? So, I feel great about it. We didn't even make opens last VCT, so this is a really good feeling. I love the players I've played with, but, you know, and I'm not dissing any of my old teammates that I’ve played with before - but, I feel like I’ve never truly been carried in a match before. It's really nice to know that if I'm not performing to where everyone expects me to perform, that we can still pull a dub out and in the fashion that we did."

After the infamous 9-3 debacle in the upper bracket for FaZe against 100 Thieves, the team needed a fast regroup. Quickly falling to losers forced them to play survival VALORANT immediately. The overtime win over Luminosity not only kept their season alive, but set up a rematch with 100 Thieves that could erase an off-season of what ifs. 

"After the first loss where we were up 9-3 on every map," said Babybay. "We watched the VOD over and we were like ‘damn, we really threw this series,' like shit man, but you know, I don't want to say that we threw," said babybay."Obviously, they're a great team and this is what happens, right? If you give a great team those rounds and don't close out, they can come back and that's what they were able to do. So, going into this we were just like, you know what, don’t take anything for granted, even if the scoreline goes to 9-3, they can still win. We didn’t even think about that, we just focused on one round at a time, you know. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster, but we were pretty composed as a team"

In three playoff series for FaZe, they've gone the distance all three times. Each game coming down to the wire on the decider map. One or two rounds separating the teams in high pressure, late game situations that require an element of calm. Despite the early loss to 100 Thieves, FaZe stayed composed and learned from their mistakes.

"It was very much like the LG match," said Babybay post-game, "literally same exact scenario, right? Like, we win by one round or two rounds. It was intense but we’re so used to it at this point that I think that we just cold in those moments" 

The confidence is unmistakable and as FaZe climbs the bracket, the play backs up the demeanor. With a round differential of a miniscule +3 against 100 Thieves, each round felt crucial and FaZe delivered in the clutch. Behind the dominant play of Quan "dicey" Tran and Kevin "poised" Ngo (combined +44 KD), FaZe stole key rounds late on Breeze to secure the 2-1 win.

Cold, calm, collected. It wasn't Babybay's best performance, but in the swing rounds, he found value on the Neon. It was a group of phenomenal individually talented players on FaZe flexing their skill in the pressurized environment. Learning from the pain of the first loss to 100 Thieves slipping through their grasp and rising above the moment.

Moreover, I asked Babybay about their decision to float Breeze over Icebox. In the previous matchup, 100 Thieves scraped by on Icebox, winning 13-11, but FaZe was having none of it in the rematch.

"We played them on Icebox and their post-plants were pretty cracked," said Babybay "So, we were like, you know what, let's not deal with this shit right now. It’s such a cringe playstyle, but you know, everybody’s got to play like that. That’s how that map works at this moment in time, but it's tough to do that, so we were just like `let's just play Breeze.'"

As for his Neon play, in a short period of time, he's added an extra flavor to the Neon metagame. It's not only his clever use of her mobility, but finding value out an ultimate he once considered to be the worst in the game.

"Truth be told, I used to think that it was one of the worst ults in the game. When I started playing Neon, which was like four days before we played LG in that series, I thought it was terrible, man - I thought it was the worst ult. But, as I played with it more and more in scrims. I got used to the kit more and how to use her abilities and the timings of the character better.

I feel like I'm one of the only Neons, besides Victor, that gets value out of using the ult. And, even he struggles sometimes to find value on it. Overwatch has helped with the tracking aspect of it because it does feel like a Zarya beam at the end of the day. But yeah, it at first, was boring to me. It felt like I was shooting a pea shooter and just getting head-shotted."

FaZe will face NRG for a chance at a lower bracket final bid on June 24th at 6PST.  The teams are scrim partners and know each others tendencies.

"I think that usually we have the edge, but like I've said in multiple interviews, I do believe that anybody can beat anybody right now. It just depends on who shows up and who stays composed the most and who can switch things up in terms of how much time you have in preparations. So, it’s definitely going to be a banger of a series and I can’t wait to play them."

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Valorant news and updates.