“I don’t think I should retire yet,” FNATIC Boaster on turning 30 during the 2025 VCT season

Jake "Boaster" Howlett is back with FNATIC for another go, starting with the VCT EMEA Kickoff 2025. The season did not start how the team would have hoped, however. They fell in their first match to BBL Esports.

After that loss, esports.gg chatted with Boaster. We discussed the new members of the team, Leo's status, how the maps went down from his perspective, and even the thought of hanging it up seeing as he'll be 30 in May.

A video version of this interview will be uploaded to the esports.gg VALORANT YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe!

"Your 2025 VCT debut. A slightly new look to the team. We’ve seen some videos, images, and now we’ve seen you guys play together. It wasn’t the outcome you hoped for, but how’s the team getting along?"

Boaster: "I think the team atmosphere is good. Practice is going pretty well, I'd say not like amazingly, but we're learning stuff. It's just a shame about that Split defense. We didn't have any solutions, which was sad. The rounds kind of snowballed and then it was really tough."

"We'll definitely get into the match itself, but first regarding the team. Are you able to give us any update on Leo and his potential return to competition?"

Boaster: "Leo's still not very well, so he is still in bed. So, I don't know when Leo is going to be up and running again and shooting."

"Okay. So, back in the 60's there was the British Invasion, where the Beatles, The Who, The Yardbirds, and so many other bands boomed in popularity in America. And now, it looks like an Americas invasion coming to EMEA. You’ve got flyuh, Sadhaak, Less, and your teammate crashies coming over. What do you think the appeal is for these Americas players to cross the pond?"

Boaster: "The first appeal would be to play in Tier 1, rather than like Tier 2 or Ascension for some of them. And then, yeah, it's what N4RRATE did when he played with KC. It was the Tier 2 up and coming, then joined the KC roster, did it really well, and now he's in Sentinels. So, for us, actually we thought Leo might be back, but then we found out he wasn't. So, we kind of had to quickly find someone and crashies fit the bill.

"Well, it’s not just players that are new. As an IGL, you’ve got a new Agent and another change to the map pool soon to deal with, as Icebox and Ascent come back. Let’s start with Tejo. First, what are your thoughts on the new Agent, especially how Alfajer utilized him during the first map?"

Boaster: "I think Tejo is decent on some maps and, and not as decent on other maps. He's fun. I don't think today was a Tejo problem on Abyss. I think it was more of like, I've got an idea of how to fix it, I think. So, it would just be that because we can't be getting three rounds on the attack side of Abyss. Which is embarrassing for me as an IGL. So, I think Tejo has got a lot of potential on some maps. Just trying to figure out which ones."

"Second then, how do you feel about him being available for play right away during Kickoff, and the map rotation changing so frequently now in 2025?"

Boaster: "For him being available, I'm not too bothered. He is not like super broken OP. It wouldn't be like releasing Astra and being like, off you go plug and play. She was really broken at the start. He's good, but he is not amazingly good and you have to use his util quite well.

"So, I think that's the benefit. As for the map pool changing, that one's a bit more annoying. Mainly because our year's been extended, to allow us for more breaks, but now with the map pools constantly changing, those breaks are not going to be as easily enjoyed. Especially for people in leadership roles and strategy roles. So it is what it is. It's part of the game. So, we just make do."

"We'll talk about the match itself now. On Abyss, 0.01 away from defusing the Spike on time in Round 5 for BBL. That’s a round that could see a momentum shift, though BBL stayed strong through the rest of the map. What’s the vibe of the team coming out of a game where a round was decided literally as close as it possibly could have been, but you couldn’t capitalize on it?"

Boaster: "Obviously, I'm going to watch that game back. I had some ideas before this game, what I needed to do and I think today's game really highlighted that. It was way too close. And I think because of the Tejo, we have to figure out what post plant and stuff looks like.

"Especially against these Sage comps. We knew that Sage was going to be coming in, running in with a wall, making our lives miserable. So, I think we need to play better. Split is a really good example of that on defense, of not adapting to what's going on or reading. Abyss was kind of the same, but I'll take more of the blame on it. It's just, it's a hard map, but yeah."

"Circling around to the current map pool. When it came to Fracture, you had yourself a game. Are you happy to have such a unique map like that back in play?"

Boaster: "Yeah, I've always liked Fracture. I think it's been one of my favorite maps since release. FNATIC have always been quite good at it. And for me, I get to play Brim Daddy, which is always like, here we go, big ass running in, looking juicy <laughs>.

"I do like Brimstone a lot. I'm not a big fan of Omen. And Astra, I don't mind, but like Brim is where it's at. He's the one where you can Stim Beacon and just go entry and his util suits me. It's very aggressive with the Mollies and the Ult. But yeah, Fracture is back, so at least we have one map that we can win."

"And Split proved itself to be attacker-sided as ever, once again. Was that the case for why BBL managed that comeback? Perhaps winning the pistol rounds? What did you see from them that made it so difficult for your team to get rolling on defense?"

Boaster: "I think just a lot of things didn't go our way. Obviously, we lost the pistol, and that's 50/50. Then the bonus we gave a pick, and then the next time we had a buy, they had a Raze Ult and another Ult. So, that one's really hard to win. We almost did win it, but it was close.

"And then the next buy, they actually whipped out the Op and picked me in B Main so that we are 4v5 again. By then it's like 9:9 and it's looking not fun. Then the rounds kind of just escalated. We gave them too much control.

"We started getting a bit more scared, not knowing what to do, and yeah, the holds weren't holding and we weren't playing on the site. I think it was a really good learning process. So, I mean, if we don't qualify for Thailand, which is going to be a really hard run now.

"Then at least we have preparation for the next m=Masters and hopefully we can make it to Champs. So yeah, it's just this year is going to be a lot harder. You probably won't see the same dominant FNATIC. I think everyone's kind of playing really well right now. It's just unfortunate, but that's competition and we live for it."

"Lastly, perhaps a touchy subject. You’ve clearly still got what it takes to compete. But we’ve seen old and young players calling it lately. FNS has been quoted that this is his last year as a competitor. TenZ and Sacy rode off into the sunset together. You’ve been at this for a while and will hit that dreaded 30 in the middle of the season. Is there ever a devil on your shoulder telling you you’re washed just because of your age? Or how do you approach that reality?"

Boaster: "Fortunately I'm an IGL, so that that role is pretty exclusive to older people or people that aren't maybe shooting as heads as much heads anymore, and people that have passion for strategy. So, I have that going for me.

"As for retiring, it's hard to say. I don't think I should retire yet. I think VALORANT, it's actually quite an old game. It's four years old or five years old now. I'll just keep going for a bit more I think. But it's so difficult, like after this loss, I was thinking life would be easier if I would just watch party these other teams having a mental breakdown instead of me.

"So, I don't know, I love to compete, and at the same time, I don't like losing. I've had a pretty fortunate career and lucky career. I just hope it doesn't end on a bad note, but I feel good. I feel I'm shooting, my aim feels good in scrims, and in today's official. I mean, yeah, we weren't cooking on Abyss very well with this strategy, but generally, our attack sides were all right, defense needs work, but I think defense is a really hard ball game."

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