It’s not that hard to understand who Sentinels is. After defeating Fnatic, Team Vikings, and now NUTURN Gaming en route to the grand finals of the Valorant Champions Tour Masters 2: Reykjavik tournament, they are the consensus favourite of taking home the game’s first international trophy in its still-nascent history. Fielding a cast of
With their trip to the grand finals secured after defeating NUTURN 2-0 in the upper bracket finals, Sentinels spoke in a press conference to discuss their victory over NUTURN and how they stack up against the remaining field of teams still competing in the tournament.
Throughout Masters 2, Bind had been perma-banned by Sentinels for their matches, but against NUTURN, it was left free for the first time. What was the basis for that decision?
Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan: We kind of knew that they’re undefeated on Bind back home [in Korea] so they weren’t going to switch up much of what they do. They were kind of running all their meta comps–no Astra, no Viper–so we figured that if we let Bind through, it would still be a good map for us. It’s been going in practice that we can prep for them and they’re not going to change a whole lot and we had the advantage of using agents that we feel are stronger on the map.
How did the team neutralize NUTURN’s regular composition in Bind which had Solo handle Breach who helped beat Sharks in the upper bracket quarterfinals?
Hunter “SicK” Mims: Honestly, the thing about Breach is some of his abilities are kind of predictable so you can pre-plan for what he’s going to throw at you. Before the game, when we were talking about the veto, we wanted to leave Bind open just because we felt that the comp that they were running wasn’t exactly in the meta, so even though it was a tough decision to leave Bind open, we thought [that] even though they were undefeated, we had the better Bind [comp] and obviously we did.
For ShahZaM: Earlier this week, we had a chat with Tyson “TenZ” Ngo and he said that a big part of competitive play is losing because you’re able to figure out your flaws and figure out what you need to work on. Considering SEN hasn’t lost a game yet, do you think there are any flaws that the team needs to work on heading into the grand finals?
ShahZaM: I think right now we’re playing really well. Obviously, our communication is really good and our game plans are good, but we could definitely be a bit more disciplined in some rounds. We don’t have to force the issue if we get delayed on hitting a site and maybe just reset and play the round out. Outside of that, yeah, it’s true. In losing you learn a lot. Some of the big losses that we had throughout the year we probably learned the most from and that’s kind of what brought us here. But I think now that we’re in the tournament, we’re just focusing on the things that we have and the things that we’re doing right. Afterwards, if anything goes wrong, we can reevaluate it, but so far so good.
For Jared “zombs” Gitlin: We’re in this Viper-Astra meta and everyone has been weighing in on what they think of this. You’ve been on Viper and Astra duty for SEN, so I want to get your opinion on what you think of the meta and are these two agents fun for you to play. Is this your preference and if you have any other way, would you rather not see this meta be the most prominent one?
Zombs: No, I definitely prefer to see the meta right now but it’s probably because the other teams aren’t as good as us at it. Me and Michael “dapr” Gulino both enjoy playing Viper and I think I’m probably the best Astra player in this game so it works out.
For dapr: Now that you played on LAN, how does it feel to teabag on LAN?
Dapr: Yeah, the teabag is more fluid. It feels like you’re kind of immersed when you do it so that makes it feel 10 times better.
For SicK: Every match this week, you’ve looked at least a little better than you did the match before. Has this been a matter of getting comfortable or anything like that for you?
SicK: Obviously. Going into LAN, I told my stream that you’re always going to be less comfortable in a LAN set-up no matter how experienced you are. Even though I have a decent amount of LAN experience, I think the first match was hard for me to get into because we didn’t have much time to prepare on stage because we were running late and we got rushed there. I think it just took some confidence-building across the matches that could be filled like the Vikings one where I can get into my form.
For ShahZaM: Earlier this week in another press conference, you said that NA needs to be respected as a region. Now that you’re through to the grand finals, do you think NA has earned that respect?
ShahZaM: I think definitely. We’ve beaten one of the best EU teams, one of the best Brazilian teams, and one of the best Korean teams to get here. I feel like it would be crazy for people to not respect us as a region now. But you can’t definitively say one region better than the other just yet because we’re just one team representing the region and you never know if the best EU teams right now are here. The game is constantly evolving so I think we’ll know more over time how the regions really pan out.
For dapr: I saw you on Twitter today respond to comment regarding NA having the better region because all of the best CS players moved out whereas in EU they stayed there. I wanted to know if you would be able to elaborate a bit more on your thoughts on this.
Dapr: Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have responded in the first place, but the whole reason why I responded–[which] made me kind of mad–was because it was moving goalposts in my eyes where it’s, like, everybody would hype up EU going into events and generally EU, from their CS history, would just be looked at as the better region. And then when NA started to perform, it was like ‘Yeah it was obvious NA was going to perform. If you moved over compared to EU..’ and it was basically [one] not having both ways, so that’s kind of how I viewed it.
For ShahZaM: With you and SicK, in particular, you have more LAN experience than some of these teams combined, so I wanted to know how much has that experience helped you guys prevail so far in the event? How much of an advantage do you think it has given you over some of these opponents?
ShahZaM: I think it’s definitely a big advantage. Some of these guys are really new to LAN environments. Valorant’s like their first big tournament or esport, but we’ve been through a lot of big tournaments in CS so it’s a pretty easy adjustment. Even if things don’t feel perfect like they’re at home, we’re pretty used to getting set up. Not only that, I think it’s a mental thing too. We just know the game feels better on LAN and we’re comfortable with it and it helps.
For TenZ: You guys are on a bit of a world tour now after beating a team from EU, Brazil, and Korea. None gave you too much trouble but could you tell the comps were each different depending on the region you were playing?
TenZ: Obviously, each region has their own playstyle but I think because we’re so good at adapting that we were able to adjust and play against that style’s weakness.
I’ve already this question to SicK and TenZ earlier this week so this is for the other three, and it bounces off an earlier question a moment ago. How does Valorant on the LAN client feel compared to the game regularly for you all?
ShahZaM: It feels so much better. We’ve had the luxury of being in a pretty central location to play online. Our ping from Texas is pretty good, but opping on LAN feels phenomenal. I feel like I can actually hold an angle and that I’m not going to get wide swung by a Vandal so I definitely prefer playing on LAN way more. Also in the practice rooms, if we play online, we can feel the difference with 60-70 ping and how, even if in a deathmatch, it felt difficult to get the kills that I would normally get compared to in a LAN. I’ll definitely always prefer LAN play. The game feels more natural.
For ShahZaM: Looking at the lower bracket, who do you think is going to make it out to face you guys and who would you rather play against?
ShahZaM: I think all the teams are pretty strong. Liquid and Fnatic seem to be getting in the groove since their earlier games now. Personally, I prefer to play Liquid because we’ve already taken out Fnatic so I just want to take out the other EU team and what better fashion than in the grand finals.
For dapr: I want to ask the same question to dapr [about the LAN client] because I saw him picking up the mic earlier.
Dapr: I was going to agree with ShahZaM. You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody that plays the game professionally and be like ‘LAN feels worse’ other than them being uncomfortable when they’re first starting off. For the SEN playstyle in general–Killjoy-Cypher-Sage and being way more passive–it just rewards you [for] being patient and disciplined because there’s no Ferrari Peeks that will catch you off-guard and, even if you have a better position, the odds of you getting that kill is way higher than online, so it makes me feel more confident holding angles.
For TenZ: We saw you take a break from competition earlier in your Valorant career and now you’re back and you’re here seeing a lot of success at LAN. How much fun you’re having and how different this is to something like content creation?
TenZ: When I originally took this step down to content creation, I kind of realized it from watching the matches that I still wanted to compete. Obviously, this team, when I filled in for them, they were already winning and stuff, so it was a no brainer when ShahZam asked me in Twitter DMs to come to play for an event. And then, I guess, it’s turning into a long-term thing and this is the most fun I’ve ever had with a team.
