It’s been an odd few weeks for Team Liquid Valorant. On August 31, they defeated GIANTX 3-0 to claim the title of EMEA Stage 2 champions, looking like they could be one of the best teams in the world heading into Champions. Then, two weeks and a short flight later, they found themselves routed by DRX 0-2 in their very first match of the biggest international tournament of the year.

It definitely wasn’t the opening match that they wanted, but slow starts have become par for the course for TL Valorant. They’ve gotten better and better at rebounding from these early losses, and have spent the intervening week making sure they’re fully prepared for their elimination match. We spoke to coaches LohaN and yaotziN to break down what went wrong in that DRX match and what they anticipate for the next matchup against EDG.

So… how are you guys feeling going into tomorrow?

LohaN: Excited, honestly. The last game didn’t go as we expected. I think there were a lot of things lacking on the server. We lacked energy, we were struggling a bit inside of the server, and this week we took a different approach. We’re working really hard and I’m excited.

yaotziN: I’m not sure if “excited” is the word, but I’m just curious how the team will react to what we did this week, how hard they worked this week, and how this work is going to pay off in the short term, ‘cause we changed the approach. We just need to see how it’s going to work out in the server. So I’m more curious, I would say. Generally, I have no idea what type of team we may see versus EDG, especially on map one. So it’s going to be very interesting.

I think people have started associating a slow start with Team Liquid Valorant. What do you think causes that? Why do you think it takes a little bit for the team to shift into the winning mindset?

LohaN: This specific first game was quite different from the rest of the year, honestly. Right now, we have all the conditions to have good starts and to come in this tournament and meet the expectations that we set for ourselves. I just think we weren’t coming in with the correct mindset for the first game of Champions. 

We just came from winning Split 2, and we were — I’m not sure if “cocky” is the word, but a bit more “complacent,” I would say. And I didn’t see the energy or the willingness to be champions and fight for the title. As I saw, for example, even when we were qualifying for Bangkok, when we were qualifying for Toronto. Even in Toronto, we showed a much different mindset and energy. 

This is one of the things that I was the most frustrated about in the last game. Just the overall facial expressions. We’re not hyping ourselves up. We felt a bit dead inside of the server. And I think this was the main reason for us having this cold of a start. Hopefully, this was a big wake up call for us, and we’ll show a different face in the game tomorrow.

yaotziN: We also just lacked creativity to play versus the comps. We were not present in the moment. We just kind of played to play, so we lost a lot of rounds because they did something creative with their new composition that we never faced.

Why do you think the team had such a hard time with what DRX was doing?

LohaN: We never faced these compositions on Abyss and on Bind as well. We never faced any of these compositions in practice before. Usually we are a team that can adapt to any type of composition on the fly and find solutions, both micro and macro.  But as we were saying, I think it was the combination of DRX bringing a really different comp into a week where we didn’t have the correct adaptation or the correct mindset to come up with the solutions that were needed.

yaotziN: Yeah, we had a game plan how to approach this comp when we saw it, and we planned to just be in their face more because that’s how you should play against this type of comp, but it felt like we were not present or brave enough to face them. And we kind of tried, but then they just came back and destroyed us every single time with their utility. So, I feel like versus EDG, we just need to be more brave to face the enemy team.

What strengths do you think the team drew on to win EMEA?

LohaN: I think, especially with this iteration of this roster, with Trexx coming in, our base level got much higher. It was a combination of us bringing a complete player into the roster and, without taking credit away for our win, I think the level in EMEA in Split 2 wasn’t the greatest. ‘Cause it really felt that we were not playing at our ceiling and we still won it. Our goal since [Trexx] joined was to try to reach our ceiling.

The fact that we won Split 2 — this is a combination of us having really good players, really good game plans, and really good strategies. I just have this weird feeling — and I think [yaotziN] as well — that we didn’t play to our best and we still won it. I don’t know how to explain it. 

yaotziN: It makes sense. I feel like if we won Split 2 with the previous rosters, we’d be way more happy, because it would be harder to do. With [Trexx] joining in, our goal was to basically demolish [the other teams], and it felt like it was just too scrappy, basically. 

Like [LohaN] said, EMEA Split 2 wasn’t the greatest, and even if teams tried to do something new and strange versus us, I felt like we knew the counter instantly, or we were just very well prepared versus some specific comps. I feel like we got a little bit too used to just winning by playing, whereas I feel like here at Champs, there are better teams which have stronger approaches and play styles. We just need to do better on the server to secure the games.

‍So, in your view, the team won EMEA this split by playing very solid, baseline Valorant. But for internationals, you’ve got to step it up and be a little hungrier. With that in mind, how are you rallying the team ahead of tomorrow to have that hunger, to go above and beyond the standard they’ve been playing at?

LohaN: It’s been one of the biggest challenges since the second split, and now, coming to Champions, we’re just trying to fuel them with more motivation  and energy for these situations, because it’s been a very long year for us. We’ve been to every single tournament except for EWC, and even the tournaments that we did qualify to, it was always through lowers. Right now, we’re one of the teams that have the most games played in the world at the VCT level, and we’ve been through so many different situations that we have to figure out solutions to, that I think it got to a point where it’s harder to have emotional stability. 

I think this is one of our biggest challenges, and especially this week we’ve been trying to go through basically more of a healing process inside the team, where we’re trying to speak out our minds, our frustrations, the things that are working, the things that are not working, and try to set in stone what is the mindset that we want to bring for the rest of this tournament. Because tomorrow could be our last game as a team, and we need to come together right now. There’s no other time. So we need to seize the opportunity.

How are you feeling about the match against EDG tomorrow? What has the preparation been like for that?

yaotziN: I think, especially after the last experience versus DRX, in terms of facing such a weird comp, this preparation feels more normal. We just focus a lot on ourselves and our stuff. So, definitely, we are prepared versus EDG, but we don’t need to do a lot to beat them, if we’re going to play at the level that we’re supposed to. So the main goal is to just make sure that the players can basically play our A and, worst case scenario, B game.

If we beat EDG, it’s a rematch against DRX to get to playoffs. So, you’ve been talking all about how we weren’t prepared, we couldn’t really adapt to the comps that they were running, but… we’re going to have to do it again. Are you thinking about that at all or are you just focused on tomorrow?

LohaN: Yeah, I’m so focused for tomorrow, because if we lose tomorrow, we’re out of the tournament. So, we need to go game by game. But, definitely, I want to win tomorrow and then I’m excited for the rematch against DRX. If we get there, I’m 100% sure that we’re going to beat them.

yaotziN: I have no doubt. If we manage to win tomorrow and gain the motivation, gain the momentum going into the next game, it’s going to be a completely different team on the server. I have no doubts whatsoever. I feel like there are tons of ideas to beat this play style. NRG also just beat them, so it’s not like they’re unbeatable. But, like [LohaN] said, we just need to go step by step. So for now all the focus is on the next EDG game, and then we’re going to have this one extra day to cook something for DRX.

One of the big narratives around the DRX match afterwards was that it seemed like nAts wasn’t playing as well as he usually does. It feels like nAts and Team Liquid are very synonymous with each other, like he’s kind of a barometer for how well our team is doing. From inside the team, do you think that’s the case, or do you think the dynamic is different?

LohaN: I think the most surprising fact is that everyone is so used to [nAts] being a consistent leader, a consistent player, able to do it all, and sometimes we forget he’s human. I think we’re just used to seeing him being always on top of the scoreboard, always being a great leader, and a great IGL. But we also had games where he wasn’t at his best and we managed to win. Because even if he’s not performing individually, he’s still going to perform in other aspects of the game, like just leading the team in terms of energy. 

Obviously, this last game… he wasn’t at his best, but I don’t think we can be putting the responsibility on him. There’s a collective responsibility, the fact that we didn’t come out at our best level.

yaotziN: All the other players had insane moments during the season. All of them have great moments, and all of them can carry the team. I think this is way more stable than it was in Stage 1 or Kickoff. So it’s not like if [nAts] cannot deliver, we have to instantly lose.

Plus, I feel like he never had two bad games in a row. So, yeah, the next one is the good one. Don’t worry about this.

Is there anything you’d like to say to Team Liquid fans ahead of tomorrow’s match?

LohaN: First of all, thank you for always being with us, supporting us all year, not just for tomorrow. You’ve always been amazing, supporting us. And for tomorrow, we really need you to bring all your energy, because right now it’s the last step of the year, and we need all the energy. So, thank you for the support.

yaotziN: I’m pretty sure that after this hard week of work, the players are going to put everything out there on the server tomorrow as well. So, yeah, just make sure to send them extra positive energy, because they’re going to need it a lot. Make sure to support us live, and we’re going to do our best.