Team Anubis are the defending champions at the Red Bull Campus Clutch, can they repeat their success in 2022?
Red Bull Campus Clutch is an event series that brings together University students from around the world to see who is the best University Valorant team. Last year we saw an amazing run from Egypt's Team Anubis who came back from a 0-2 deficit to win the grand finals.
Arnav "xL" Shukla: How did you get started in Valorant, were you already playing another game competitively?
Tuna: Four of the players in our team used to play CSGO and I used to be a pro in Fortnite before valorant. We all started playing Valorant in the beta. I found them through ranked games, I didn't know them at the time. And then we just decided to make a team and work it through.
xL: What was the reason behind the agents that you chose to play? Did you already have a playstyle that is best suited?
shalaby: No, I think it was different. Everyone just had his agent and when we made the team, we really had set roles, maybe just one or two of us had to change our agents to help the team structure.
Since Valorant came out, they have introduced it to every region and they made sure that every region is participating in Valorant. I think valorant is doing great for minor regions.
xL: As students, how did you manage your time between studies and gaming?
Shalaby: So we usually scheduled our practice after everyone was back from university. That's pretty much it. Maybe play less on exam time and so on. And after exams, we'd go Bootcamp together.
xL: How many practice games would you guys play in a day?
chrollo: Usually, it's from four to five games. Apart from that we would warm up and do some theory stuff.
xL: Egypt hasn't always been very well suited for Esports in the past. Some games don't have the right infrastructure to support the region. Do you think Valorant is doing something different that has helped Egypt as a country be more competitive?
shalaby: Since Valorant came out, they have introduced it to every region and they made sure that every region is participating in Valorant. We played in the last chance qualifier last year. So I think valorant is doing great for minor regions.
xL: You made it through Africa and West Asia qualifier and flew to Madrid for the main event. When you were going to the event did you feel like you were a favourite to win the whole thing?
chrollo: After winning some games, all of us felt like we could win the whole event. Each team had its own playstyle and we had our own playstyle. So after beating some teams in the group stage we felt like we could win it.
Tuna: Yeah we had no idea what we were up against because the only team we knew was Turkey and we know that they are already pro players in different teams. So we had no idea what we were gonna be up against, but once we won some games in the group stage it gave us so a lot of confidence. We started thinking that we can actually win it.
xL: What are some differences that you guys remember from playing against these different teams?
Tuna: I actually like that every region has its own play style. If it's a Tier 1 tournament they all have the same kind of the same place but here most of the people try to run it down. Most of the teams play aggressively and like to make the enemy team fear them but it worked well for us.
chrollo: Yeah it was because of the bond we had. We had great chemistry between us, it helped us a lot.
xL: Many teams especially in tier-one tend to make changes very quickly, but you guys stuck together for over a year and a half. Do you think that chemistry helped you progress farther than many other teams?
chrollo: I think so yeah because we had the team for a year. We had very big differences in the beginning but going through it together helped us a lot.
xL: The final started off a bit rough for you. 13-8 loss on bind followed by 13-0 beat down on icebox. For even the best players in the world, it's very difficult to come back on such a loss even if it is a BO5. What was the discussion between the maps that allowed you to come back into the game mentally?
shalaby: We left the stage, went outside and spoke to each other. We basically said after all we went through, the difficulties in even coming to the event, and we lose like this? So let's just like forget everything and focus on the next few games and see how it goes step by step.
xL: That clearly paid off as you guys managed to come back and reverse swept the game. What was the feeling like when you won the event?
shalaby: After winning the event, we didn't realise what we had done, even when we came back to the hotel. Then we went to the after-party and we actually started feeling "Oh we actually did something big"
Tuna: Yeah the after-party was amazing, to be honest. Once we entered everyone was there and all the teams were there as well and everyone just cheered for us. That was an amazing feeling.
xL: So looking back now how do you feel about it and how has it affected your playing career?
chrollo: I think it really helped us get to the next level playing at an international level and playing versus every country and every region.
Tuna: It has also helped the region like there are more events in Egypt so that's really good.
We were not playing our playstyle because we were scared, but after the first map, we tried to get comfortable. I think we played well on the second map but it was difficult overall.
xL: The biggest achievement for this roster by far was the VCT last-chance qualifier. You qualified through the Strike Arabia event. What was that experience like?
chrollo: We didn't have experience playing against tier 1 before so we had some difficulties. We were not playing our playstyle because we were scared, but after the first map, we tried to get comfortable. I think we played well on the second map but it was difficult overall. I think if we have some experience like this, it will be easier for us.
xL: So you guys will be playing in the upcoming season of Red Bull Campus Clutch, trying to defend your crown?
Tuna: We're actually gonna be rivals in this season of Red Bull Campus Clutch. chrollo isn't gonna play with us because he signed with a team and the rest of us we're gonna replace chrollo with rocket. And he is also a great player, so I feel like we can secure it again. I also feel like the qualifier is gonna be harder than the main event. It kind of feels like, once you get to the main event, you never know what's going to happen. But qualifiers are gonna be harder
xL: The VCT structure is changing for 2023 and the Ascension leagues are a big part of the new changes. What are your thoughts on the new franchise structure and the Ascension leagues?
chrollo: I think it is much better than this year because the Ascension leagues give you three chances to play at international tournaments. Previously LCQ was the only way to go to the VCT.
xL: If you could make a change to any agent what would you do?
shalaby: Nerf Chamber
chrollo: Nerf Chamber and buff Astra because I love playing Astra.
tuna: Make Reyna playable in tournaments again so I can just play her.
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