Version1 earned their spot at VCT Masters Reykjavik in unexpected fashion. We had the chance to sit down with one of their integral players, Loic “effys” Sauvageau after he landed in Iceland.
Version1's journey to reach Masters Reykjavik was nothing short of extraordinary. Not just because of their sudden rise to greatness, but the names they took out during their quest was remarkable. It was undeniably a team effort, but one major contributor was Loic "effys" Sauvageau.
The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player switched to VALORANT almost immediately and joined Version1 when it founded in February 2021. Esports.gg got the opportunity to sit down with the Canadian player to get his thoughts on Reykjavik's atmosphere, his thoughts on Sentinels, and how exposure to different regions can eventually change the meta ahead of the event.
v1.effys: "If we had to be nervous at some point it had to be during this last tournament"
Iceland is a wonderful country, with incredibly scenery. Since Version1 and effys' arrival to the country, they have been "more excited than anything really" to get the games going as soon as possible.
However, effys believe there is no reason to be nervous. The team had their fair share of tense moments leading up to Masters 2.
"The road to Masters 2 was very long, especially our lower bracket during the last Challengers so if we had to be nervous at some point it had to be during this last tournament," said effys to Esports.gg.
"Right now we’re at a point where we just want to play the other regions and see how good we are, that’s all there is to it."
v1.effys: "I think I’ve had a lot of impact in our previous run back in NA, and I intend to have the same impact here"
On the topic of pressure, the North American region is known for high expectations whenever there is an international tournament in almost any game. We all know how this story goes in League of Legends. Is there more pressure on NA to perform than other regions?
"I don’t think coming from NA brings more pressure," said Version1's effys. "I feel like other regions like EU and Brazil also have huge fan bases, so to me it really is not that big of a deal where you are from, everyone in this event deserves to be here and wants to win just as much. As for myself I just want to keep doing what I’ve been doing for my team, I think I’ve had a lot of impact in our previous run back in NA and I intend to have the same impact here."
Well, North America sent two teams to represent them, Version1 and Sentinels. The latter was able to clean sweep the former during the VCT Stage 2: NA Challengers Finals. Since Tyson "TenZ" Ngo addition, Sentinels grew unstoppable. Their dominance was hailed by effys, saying that "there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Sentinels is the number one team in NA until proven otherwise."
"As for the results we had against them during the finals we’re not looking into it that much. We talked about it as a team, we know what went wrong and we have a good idea on how to fix it," said effys.
v1.effys on VALORANT meta: "We’re seeing some stuff that is very different from what we’re used to seeing at home"
But what about outside of North America? International tournaments don't only gauge how strong a region is against another, but also how different are their strats and meta. The past few weeks were spent scrimming between the teams.
Did any region stand out from scrims? "None of them really, it feels like it’s pretty much what we expected," said effys. "Some of the online teams that we’ve played from Europe have been pretty dominant but it’s hard to get a good idea since we’re playing at a disadvantage due to our ping and setups."
The VALORANT meta and team composition is constantly changing. Since the game's launch, each region identified a unique playstyle. Once we see all of them clash, will there suddenly be a shift in the way pro players see the game?
"Absolutely, I feel like just being here and practicing versus these other regions is very good for us. We’re seeing some stuff that is very different from what we’re used to seeing at home and playing against it is definitely better than just watching it," said effys.
"Sadly we couldn’t fill our full roster for this event so we’ll have to share some of our new knowledge to our good friend wippie when we come back, but this will without a doubt make us a better team even if we don’t completely change our playstyle."
Stay tuned on Esports.gg and our Twitter for the latest updates and interviews around the VCT Masters Reykjavik.
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