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100 Thieves took on XSET in the Upper Semifinals of the VCT 2022 Stage 2 NA Challengers in contention for a spot in the Upper Finals. After two maps of exciting exchanges, 100 Thieves were hit with defeat, pushing them to the lower bracket of the tournament.
In the gameweeks leading up to the NA Challengers playoffs, 100 Thieves succeeded in claiming a win over XSET. In their rematch in the playoffs, however, things did not entirely go in their favor.
The opening matchup on Icebox kept viewers on the edge of their seats, with a strong second-half performance from XSET converting the map in their favor. XSET followed up with an incredible performance on Ascent to seal the match and progress to the Upper Finals.
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100 Thieves will continue their fight for a VCT Masters qualification in the VCT 2022 Stage 2 NA Challengers' lower bracket. After defeating FaZe Clan earlier in the Upper Round, 100 Thieves will now prepare themselves for a rematch in a Lower Round 2 fixture on June 20, 2022 at 04.30 AM IST/ June 19, 2022 at 04.00 PM PDT/ 07.00 PM EDT.
100 Thieves Asuna after defeat to XSET at VCT 2022 Stage 2 NA Challengers Upper Semifinals
In a conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Adarsh J Kumar, one of 100 Thieves' longest standing players, Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk, talked about his team's performance against XSET in the VCT 2022 Stage 2 NA Challengers playoffs while detailing their developments under a new coaching system.
Q: After a series of great performances, 100 Thieves are in the top 6 of the VCT NA Challengers. How do you think your team performed today?
Asuna: I think on Map 1 we played relatively fine. Nothing spectacular, nothing bad. But we definitely have rounds where we can improve on. And on Ascent, I think we played pretty bad, but that's also because XSET is a pretty good team.
Q: 100 Thieves managed to defeat XSET earlier in the group stage. What do you think happened differently this time around?
Asuna: Group stages are group stages and playoffs are playoffs so they just showed up a lot more and played together as a team. A lot of our cracks were showing and they capitalized on that.
Q: You are the longest-standing member of a 100 Thieves roster that has seen several changes in recent times. How balanced would you say the squad is right now, considering all the changes it went through?
Asuna: I think it's all pretty balanced. It's not like anyone is a weak link or anyone is like crazy insane. I think we're all individually the same, and we're all trying to fit into the coaching staff's vision and try and be the best team we can be.
Q: On a similar note, it’s been almost 3 months since Sean Gares and ddk joined the team. Considering the success you’ve had at the tournament so far, how effective is the system that they set in place for you guys?
Asuna: I think it's been effective so far. I know that overall if you told me at the start when we got the team together that we would get to the top 6, I would be very happy. Obviously right now, in the position we're in, we know we can do better.
I think overall it's been pretty successful. So hopefully we just keep improving, and once we have more time under our belt, it will be better.
Q: In your last match against FaZe Clan, you tried out Fade for the first time. What do you think about the Agent, and how effective do you think she is in pro Valorant?
Asuna: I think she's pretty good. Usually, you pair it together with someone. It really depends on the player you're playing with, how vocal you are being with your team, and factors like that.
Q: What are your first impressions on Pearl, Valorant's latest map? What are your thoughts on Pearl replacing Split in competitive play?
Asuna: I have not played the new map and I have not seen anything from the new map. I'm not really focused on the content sidejust beens. I've just been focused on the event at hand, so I have no opinion on Pearl.
As for Split being removed, I think that was one of the maps that could've been removed. It's either Split, Haven or Bind, since those were the first three original maps. Overall, I think it's fine as long as it's Split or Bind, really. I think Split is a really good map. It just sucks in competitive play.
Q: 100 Thieves will be up against FaZe Clan for a rematch in the VCT NA Challengers' Lower Round 2 fixture. You managed to beat them last time. What do you think will happen this time around?
Asuna: It's going to be hard. Playing FaZe is always difficult, especially with babybay and dicey. They're really good players. We'll just have to come out swinging. Hopefully, we don't start down 9-3 on all three maps.
Q: The last time you made it to LAN was at Masters Berlin. However, you will be playing in front of a live crowd if you make it through this time around. How much are you looking forward to representing NA at the next VCT LAN?
Asuna: I'm excited. I have never played in front of a crowd like that and I just can't wait.
