The 2024 season has formally begun for VALORANT. The primary fit of the VCT Americas Kickoff match noticed NRG tackle FURIA. Led by means of unutilized IGL and international champion, Ethan “Ethan” Arnold, NRG began the season with a victory.
As one among a number of rosters that made adjustments within the low season, everybody nonetheless expects this group to accomplish neatly. Thus, we asked past to talk with Ethan following the order. He got into main points in regards to the transition to NRG and the IGL function, and what the group is doing to stick cohesive.
NRG in-game chief Ethan on opening victory and meshing with unutilized teammates
“You’ve got to love a tech pause to kick off the 2024 season. Did that bring back any nerves you might have shaken off before making it out to the stage?”
Ethan: “Nah, not even nerves. We were all just so eager to play. It’s kind of annoying, because we were all ready to play the first match back in a couple months. Then you’re in the dreaded tech pause that everyone’s familiar with. So, like okay, we’ll just sit here a little longer, I guess.”
“In traditional sports, if a team wins a championship, they often want to stay together to try and run it back the following year. Is it weird to be here with NRG, in a brand-new role, with just about everyone from EG last year somewhere else?”
Ethan: “If you happen to have a look at it from like a out of doors POV, it’s surely tremendous bizarre. We’re more or less all sprinkled round. Clearly, I might’ve appreciated to stick with that group and to have everybody in combination in a really perfect international, and run it again.
“We were at the top of last year. So, it just makes sense. Nothing’s perfect, and things happen. You kind of have to roll with the punches, and I’m used to joining new teams. It’s nothing new for me. So, it’s not the end of the world.”
“Well, let’s go with a simple one to follow that up. The new-look NRG’s debut. How do you think you guys did?”
Ethan: “For our first appearing, it was once excellent. It wasn’t best possible. It wasn’t good-looking, needless to say. However it was once a 2-0, and we all know that we may have surely completed higher. There have been a bundle of items. Air particularly, there was once such a lot of alike rounds. We even reiterated it within the contest.
“We have been like, ‘We’re enjoying so excellent at this time, however the finish of those rounds, it’s so alike.’ And the ones are truly the one ones they’re successful. Those tremendous alike ones. So, it was once simply, hold our underpinning at the pedal, and I’m certain we’ll be capable of alike it out.
“And then Ascent, same thing. They hit us with a couple curve balls on their defense. That caught us off guard. And then our defense was clean. So, I think we showed how we were supposed to look like at the end there, I guess.”
“That brings me right to my next question, about the calling. We saw FURIA make a bit of a comeback on Map 1 and keep things close throughout a lot of Map 2. How well were you able to adjust to their successes?”
Ethan: “We pinpointed it good-looking fast, what was once successful them rounds and what was once shedding us rounds. So, if you’ll establish that truly fast in a contest, particularly a contest like VALORANT, the place you don’t have that many probabilities.
“If you can identify it really quick, then you have a good chance of winning. Thankfully, we have a lot of vocal people on the team and a good coach. So, if I don’t see it, someone else will. They made it really easy for me these two games, thankfully.”
“Scrims are one thing, but when it comes to the official match, that can be a different beast. Has being surrounded by the players on this team made your swap into the IGL role an easy one?”
Ethan: “I’d say so, yeah. It’s a problem for all folks. I’ve to be told how all 4 of them play games, or I assumption 3. I already understand how Demon1 performs. They usually all need to get old to how I name and what I love to do, modest dispositions, stuff like that.
“It’s a finding out revel in for everyone, and fortunately they’re all, like I stated, tremendous talkative, tremendous vocal. We’ve made a bundle of walk in just like the day and a half-ish that we’ve needed to observe.
“So, it’s looking good so far. And I think the best thing for improvement is matches. Because you see your true colors and where you shine. What your weaknesses are. So, the more matches we play, the better we’ll get.”
“So, I talked with Chet before the season and he was very happy with the ideas and experiences you brought into practice. It’s no secret that he and FNS are one of the most iconic coach/IGL duos in VALORANT history. With him exiting the team, he leaves that behind along with crashies and Victor. Do you feel like there are big shoes to fill there at all?”
Ethan: “Evidently. Changing anyone that’s been an IGL their entire occupation with me, who has completed it for 2 months. Yeah, there’s plenty footwear to fill, however there’s no longer truly a lot force, for my part, from me. There’s no longer truly someone anticipating a lot from me as an IGL. Perhaps my teammates.
“And that’s okay for me. I think the whole team knows we’re in this together. I’m not going to mastermind them to victory right now. It’s a big learning experience for everybody, and as long as everyone’s on the same page with that then, you know, we’re chilling.”
“You mentioned the team needing to learn how you call, how you play. Was there a system in place that you first had to fit into then with the aforementioned pieces in place? Or how open were they to the ideas and changes you might have presented when this roster first came together?”
Ethan: “We introduced a bundle from EG. No longer even strats, simply wording, other kinds of spherical. I confirmed them how Demon1 loves to play games. I confirmed them how I love to backup him and what works, what doesn’t. They usually introduced a bundle from their used group with a undeniable ideology of the maps, what they prefer.
“I requested them a bundle what they appreciated from their used group. As a result of that’s tremendous remarkable, too. I don’t wish to produce all of it about me and adapting. I would like them to have some comfortability in that, too. It was once a bundle of simply sharing data, sharing other concepts.
“And everyone’s super moldable still. It’s pretty rare when you have a lot of like seasoned players. It’s rare that they’re still able to be molded, and taught, and have them learn still. So, it’s really good. I won’t say it’s been easy. It hasn’t been an easy road, but there’s been a lot of learning and a lot of progress.”
“Now, about the current VALORANT meta. Both maps had mirrored comps. We’ve got the new map pool and some Agent changes heading into the year. Do you think we’ll see a lot of innovation, stuff outside of the norm this year?”
Ethan: “Yeah, simply from scrims that we’ve unmistakable. I feel you guys are in bundle for a bundle of various stuff this life. Sadly nowadays, the ones have been possibly the 2 maps which can be tremendous lifeless comp-wise.
“But I think today, in the C9 game, they’re running some crazy stuff. With the limited number of matches people are playing, they maybe think that you might have to gimmick yourself to a win. With how little games there are, we’ll see how that goes.”
“In the post-match interview, you mentioned that there is a big question mark over every team right now. What do you feel were some of the questions for NRG heading into the season, that you hoped to find the answers to?”
Ethan: “It’s simply tremendous remarkable that if I will in finding out the strengths of each participant, and truly get in song with that, get them tremendous assured with a undeniable play games taste, upcoming that’s that. I feel it’s GG. We’ll be lunatic.
“That’s how we won last year, to an extent. Everyone found their stride. We knew how everyone liked to play. And I only have to learn three players right now. I already know how to make Demon1 insane, so I just have to do three more.”
“And what teams do you feel like are the biggest unknowns in VCT Americas without having seen them in action?”
Ethan: “I think C9. I mean, we’ve scrimmed a couple of franchise teams, so, I’d say C9. I’d also say probably LOUD actually. That’s it. I want to see EG play, too. I just want to see if they can do the same thing they did last year. The same coach and Jawgemo still on that team. I think they have a lot of potential.”
Keep tuned to esports.gg for extra esports information and VALORANT protection.
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