Valmaster and Sayff discuss joining Team Vitality, Street Fighter 6 Season 2, advice for newcomers, and more (Exclusive)

Valmaster and Sayff joined Team Vitality back in May 2024, when the organization decided to enter the world of Street Fighter 6. As one of the hottest fighting games on the block right now, it was important to pick players who have experience and potential for growth and improvement. These two players have both of these in spades. They now compete for Team Vitality, and it will be interesting to see how they do going forward.

EVO 2024 is on the way as well, both Valmaster and Sayff have the potential to shine among the thousands of competing players if they attend on compete of Team Vitality. When speaking with both players, we discussed what they bring to the organization, how they feel about Street Fighter 6 right now, and so much more.

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Valmaster and Sayff open up about what they bring to Team Vitality, Street Fighter 6, and more

Q. How does it feel to be signed to Team Vitality, an org known for success in virtually every esport they compete in? How did this partnership come to take place?

Valmaster: I have always wanted to join a big French team, so I am very happy to be part of Team Vitality! Currently, we are primarily focused on the upcoming qualifiers for the Esports World Cup and Capcom Cup, but winning the Street Fighter League in Europe would be amazing too.

Sayff: It is very exciting to be playing for an amazing organization like Team Vitality. After watching me play and seeing my success at the Capcom Cup, they saw the potential in working with me so after some discussion we just went for it.

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Q. Fighting games have arguably not been this popular in many years, and there are so many excellent players out there. What do you think you bring to the table that others might not?

Valmaster: Definitely experience. I've been a very strong contender, especially in the last years of SF4 and SF5. I’ve previously qualified for the Capcom Cup multiple times and have played against almost all the best players in the world.

Sayff: It is a great time to be a fighting game player. The competition is tougher than ever, but I think where other players doubt themselves, I bring confidence in my play and strategies that come from my wider life experience.

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Q. Team Vitality has a pretty impressive training regimen HQ, with the V.Hive. Will you both be training there, and how do you think this will help increase your output going forward?

Valmaster: Since finding out I was joining the team, I’ve been looking forward to making the most of the opportunities Team Vitality has to offer. The V.Hive is an amazing facility and I’m excited to benefit from Team Vitality's support and training regimen while working with them. In the future, I’d love to visit Japan, as it’s another fantastic place to level up and practice against top players in the world.

Sayff: It would be great to see the V.Hive and have time to train with my new teammate Valmaster. Team Vitality has some amazing facilities, regimens, and coaches. So, I am excited to build upon my skills and hone my strategy using their support.

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Q. Both of you have competed in both Street Fighter 5 and Street Fighter 6. Now that we’re a year into SF6, how does this game feel compared to the previous iteration?

Valmaster: I have also completed a lot in SF4 and to be honest, some aspects of SF6 are much easier than SF4 and SF5. Because of this, it’s brought in a lot more casual players, meaning that many top players were able to become stronger than they would have in previous SF games. This makes it harder to be consistently at the top, unlike earlier Street Fighters.

Sayff: The game requires slightly different skills, where resource management and the sense of risk & reward are more important than ever.

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Q. Season 1 wrapped up with the powerful Akuma hitting the field, and many have said that he’s simply got too much damage, while others feel he’s pretty balanced, given weaknesses in his game. How do you two feel about this latest character?

Valmaster: I think the character is amazing and definitely among the best in the game. But this season, you also have other characters who are as strong as him, so I wouldn't say he is the best. In my opinion, he is very strong and easy to use with heavy damage. It's hard to make a top-five list of characters in the game anyway, as a lot of characters are strong this season.

Sayff: Akuma is strong, but I don’t see him as substantially different from Ken, so I don’t see the value in changing characters yet. I need a character that can cover Ken’s matchup gaps.

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Q. We also had some pretty major balance changes in Season 2, and it drastically improved some characters - namely Zangief. Though you both have established mains (Sayff: Ken and Valmaster: Chun-Li), did any of those changes give you pause to consider who else you’d consider maining/seconding?

Valmaster: Yes, the characters who became very strong this season and were not used much in Season 1 are Ryu, Gief, and Aki. Honestly, I think Chun-Li is still a solid choice this season. Some matchups are better and some worse, but overall she feels strong. I also played Kimberly in Season 1, but unfortunately, I don’t think that she is strong enough, so I won’t play with her anymore this year.

Sayff: Yes, I always carefully look at the patch, but this one didn’t change much for me. I’m still confident with Ken and will continue to focus on him.

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Q. Do you think anyone was particularly hurt, that maybe didn’t need it to, when it comes to the Season 2 balance patch?

Valmaster: Not really. Honestly, I don’t think they nerfed some characters enough. Even if the balance of the game is okay, they should have nerfed some mechanics or tools for some characters who were dominating in Season 1, as they will continue to dominate in Season 2.

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Q. At Summer Game Fest, Capcom revealed Season 2's characters: Bison, Terry Bogard, Mai Shiranui, and Elena. How do you feel about these, and were you fans of the SNK/King of Fighters games in the past? Was there anyone you would have liked to see instead?

Valmaster: I am very surprised about the SNK characters, but I think it's a good idea to include characters from other games. There is only one character I wanted - Elena, and they announced her recently!

Sayff: The KoF characters are cool additions. It’s exciting to see these characters in SF6 and I’d love to see how they play in this game.

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Q. One of the more interesting things about fighting games is that the debate of who is the “best” always comes up. You could argue it varies from character to character but, who do you think the best Street Fighter 6 player is? Who is on top of the heap right now?

Valmaster: For Season 1, the best player was MenaRD, no debate. We’ll see who the best player for this season is in the upcoming tournaments.

Sayff: After the Season 2 changes and the surprises at Capcom Cup, I don’t think we know who the best is yet. The big tournaments like the Esports World Cup will tell us much more regarding who stands out on top.

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Q. Fighting games can be very hard to get into, but Street Fighter 6 is fairly approachable. For fans who are just coming to the genre for the first time, do you have any advice on what to do when it comes to using practice time efficiently?

Valmaster: Yes, compared to previous games, Street Fighter 6 is more approachable. I would also recommend beginners watch tutorials on YouTube to understand the game better. The community also has a lot of great streamers, so they should come on Twitch and ask us questions if they need help with the game! But obviously, working hard is also very important as well.

Sayff: Street Fighter can be played in many different ways. For a new player, the best thing to learn is how to stop the big attacks, like anti-airing jump-ins and countering drive impact. Don’t worry about tier lists. They don’t matter at all. Pick a character you like with moves that you think are cool.

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Q. Valmaster, your main character, Chun-Li, seemed to have been nerfed pretty hard in Season 2, whereas she was pretty strong in Season 1. She lost some of her edge but gained some overall power. How have these changes adjusted your overall gameplay?

Valmaster: At the moment, I disagree with some people. I think in Season 1, Chun-Li was strong but had some bad matchups. This season, I feel like she is more solid against all the characters in general, and I prefer that for the tournaments. At the moment, I’ll keep Chun-Li as my main and practice with other characters as well, but it’s hard to change while you’re preparing and training for upcoming tournaments.

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Q. Sayff, you most recently competed at DreamHack Dallas 2024, and while performing well, you were defeated by Fuudo. What was it like playing against him, and did you learn anything that could improve your gameplay going forward?

Sayff: Fuudo was a strong opponent, I’m the type of player who adapts to the skill level of my opponents and learns by fighting. The more I play strong opponents, the better chance I have next time.

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You can find Valmaster on Twitch, X, and YouTube. Sayff can also be found online creating content on Twitch, and is also on X.