OpTic FNS on rivalry with LOUD: “I think it’s one of those things that will definitely be a battle. Both teams are going to go in really wanting to win […] they want to beat us and get revenge.”

This OpTic Gaming roster is back for their second consecutive Valorant Champions, this time under the banner of the GREENWALL. 2022 has been a successful year for OpTic, maintaining North America's supremacy in Iceland while consistently being one of the best teams in the world.

Following OpTics' incredible best-of-three against BOOM Esports, FNS spoke to the press in a post-series scrum.

Q: Hi. So my question for you is what expectations for BOOM Esports did you have going into facing them today? And did they meet any of them? Do they fall short of any of them?

OpTic FNS: Yeah, our coach and analysts did a good job of understanding how they played the maps. And you know, the maps kind of went in our favour. We're very comfortable on all three maps that were in the pool. And you know, we were expecting to pick Breeze but they ended up picking it and beating us on it. But yeah, the game plan was pretty much as laid out as it could have been for us. And yeah, they basically did a lot of stuff we expected.

Q: Can you talk to us about the rivalry with LOUD and do you think there is an international rivalry as opposed to last year's G2 and Sentinels rivalry that didn’t feel authentic?

OpTic FNS: Yeah, I'd say so I think we've had way more matchups than G2 and Sentinels had, I think this is our fourth now. So it's definitely cool because every matchup has been so important. So vital, I think this is probably been the least impactful one because obviously, both teams have two lives.

But in general, I think every time we played them, it's either to knock them out or you know what I mean to have like a big match, I think it's an upper bracket final at one point, lower bracket etc. So it's definitely been quite a show playing against them every time. So I think there is a little bit of rivalry there.

Q: Congratulation on the win, what is your expectation for the next meeting with LOUD?

OpTic FNS: So as far as it being a classic for sure. As I said, Every time we've played against them, it's always been close games, literally could have gone either way. And luckily for us, it's gotten more in our favour than theirs. Hopefully, it stays that way tomorrow.

But as far as expectations go, we don't really look at that. I think it's one of those things that will definitely be a battle. Both teams are going to go in really, really wanting to win. Obviously, we want to get the first seed out of our group. They want the same thing and they want to beat us and get revenge, so it's definitely gonna be a good match.

Q: I wanted to ask what OpTic did during this month's break to prepare for Champions?

OpTic FNS: So we also had a two-week break. And in that two weeks, we definitely had some people that were playing ranked, everyone just did their own thing. There weren't any mandatory meetings or anything like that we kind of just everyone got to do their own thing.

There was no scheduled content, there were no scheduled practices, it was just a real break for us to do whatever we wanted. And some people chose to use that time to play more Valorant Some people choose their time to play you know, hanging out with friends, family, whatever. So definitely a much-needed break after the year we've had.

Q: When Chet spoke at Copenhagen, he talked a lot about the failings in communication. Although it is only one game, how are you feeling about the team's communication on stage so far?

OpTic FNS: Um, honestly, sometimes it can get a little hectic, I think we still have to find a little bit of middle ground because sometimes we're too quiet. Sometimes we're too hyper. And for an experienced team like us, that shouldn't really be the case. I think we should be able to find a middle ground.

So I think that's a big problem for us right now is that we haven't been able to find that middle area. But thing is, I think I would rather it be hectic than low comms, just because then I know everyone's kind of got ideas. Everyone's kind of zoned in and locked in. So, you know, 'overcomms' is way better than not 'comming' at all.

Q: I wanted to address a recurring theme with OpTic which is the slow start out of the gates, was this something you guys wanted to get better at for Champs?

OpTic FNS: Yeah, even in the huddle, I was just like, look, man, we just gotta show up individually because I think we sometimes play to outplay teams a little bit too much. I think we try to make the perfect decision too many times. So this event, we're just going to try to play a little bit more not loose but I think we're going to stick to our game plans but just kind of have players have a little bit more freedom to play their game and find themselves individually and that starts in the group.

So I would attribute us having slow starts to just us being too tactically aware too early in the game and everyone wanting to follow those, those strats. But this time around, I think we're changing that a little bit and players having more freedom players like Victor and Jake, Yay etc who are very, very strong mechanical players and play a lot off of momentum, you know, once you get those players going you know, the whole game changes. So we definitely made that little slight change for them.

Q: Apart from facing LOUD multiple times, what has been a recurring theme you have noticed from attending multiple international Valorant events?

OpTic FNS: I just think our consistency is definitely something that keeps us going. The fact that we've had decent results all the way through, obviously not satisfying results, because you know, we still got second and third, which isn't winning. It's still nice to be able to stay at the top of Valorant for a whole year. It's definitely satisfying for us in that sense.

Q: I wanted to ask about the Crashies ace, what was your guy's reaction in that moment?

OpTic FNS: I think both teams are just laughing, I was just staring at the other team laughing because I was just like, that's just that's never gonna happen again. You know, just I wasn't even laughing in terms of insulting or like, you know, being DM or anything. I think it was just funny.

This post-series scrum took place immediately following OpTic Gaming's best-of-three with BOOM Esports.

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