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Global Esports went up against Paper Rex in Week 5 of VCT Pacific League. It was a highly anticipated match-up that went all the way to the third map, where PRX closed the series out. The series started on Icebox, which GES won with its Harbor-Viper setup. However, the South Asian VCT representatives failed to size up against PRX's #WGaming style in the last two maps, Split and Fracture.
After the match, Abhipsito Das of Sportskeeda Esports got to interview the hero of Indian Valorant, Ganesh "SkRossi" Gangadhar, himself. This was his second match in VCT Pacific, and the star player has strung together impressive performances in the tournament so far.
Over the course of the interview, SkRossi spoke about his journey so far as a Valorant player, his role shift since the start of the 2023 VCT season, and his expectations from himself going ahead.
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Global Esports' SkRossi shares insight on clash against Paper Rex in VCT 2023 Pacific League
Q. Tell me a bit about your journey so far. What have been some of the highlights and some of the biggest lessons?
SkRossi: The biggest lesson is always to work your way through the top tiers. I am not one of the super-talented kids you see in VCT tournaments. They all started playing at a very young age, but it wasn't like that for me. Getting here took a lot of waiting and hard work, and I had to work my way here.
One of the biggest lessons is to surround yourself with good people who push you to achieve your goals and be loyal to your work. Don’t slack off on any day. I still slack off sometimes, but I know I should be at my 100% every day so that I can reach the next level. My biggest lesson so far has been to always work hard, be humble, and surround myself with the kind of people who will help me accomplish my goals.
As for highlights, winning the VCC (the first Riot-organized tournament in India) has to be one. Other than that, I was quite happy with my performance in the 2021 LCQ. The latter is not like a great achievement or anything, but they were part of a great start for me. And now, making it into the franchised league and dominating the Indian scene is great.
However, these are not what I aimed for when I started playing. Being the best in India was never my goal. I have always wanted to compete at the highest stage, which is now the VCT Pacific League. With the right people, guidance, and hard work, I hope to achieve that.
Q. What did the practice schedules look like in the first few weeks of VCT Pacific when you were stuck in Bombay?
SkRossi: I lost motivation when I learned about the Visa troubles. I wasn’t going into practice all that much, and I didn’t even feel like playing when I realized I wouldn’t be on stage and just had to watch. As a player, I should have watched and learned from the other best players on the team.
That was a mistake on my part, but it was really frustrating for me. I mean, missing one or two games is fine, but missing out on nearly 30-40% of the tournament is kind of frustrating. I kept doing my work on an individual level, playing ranked and everything.
Some people told me that I should be there in the practice sessions so I could watch and learn from the best players on the team. I decided to do away with negative thinking and focus on the positives instead.
Q. Ever since you and Lightningfast returned, the team has been fielding a rotating roster for different maps. VCT Pacific has adopted the practice of rotating rosters quite well. Do you think it will give the teams any advantage on the global stage?
SkRossi: It has its pros and cons. It doesn’t always happen this way, but for example, today I switched out after map 1 and Golu (LIghtningfast) comes in. He is very fresh and brings a new atmosphere, but he is also not warmed up to the game, unlike the other nine players on the server, which could be slightly disadvantageous.
It can also go differently, where a new player comes in and brings in fresh energy and motivation. This also adds a surprise element because the opponent can never be sure what new things the new player will bring to the table. We are also trying our best to give every player a chance to play all the games.
Q. What is your overall impression of your individual and team performance in today's VCT Pacific match?
SkRossi: In today’s match, I was playing to my true capabilities. But I can always do better, and there is more potential in me. I am constantly fighting these demons in my head. I am the only one stopping myself from being my best version. I know I have it in me to bring out the best results under high-pressure tournament scenarios.
Today’s performance in map 1 was good. We were feeling it completely. I will have to focus on finding the exact mindset I was in during the map and will focus on finding it when I am home.
Something happened on map 3, and I was a little hesitant and not exactly in the zone. I started a bit slow, but I know the mistakes I made. If you know the mistakes, then it is a good sign, even if you lose. It is up to me to learn from them and do better in the next match.
Q. What did you think about PRX's Gekko pick on Icebox?
SkRossi: We kind of knew what they were going to do with Gekko, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. I mean, the pick itself was a bit of a surprise, but their plays and strategies were something we had prepared for. We had our proper reads for the map.
Q. We saw you move from the Initiator role in VCT LOCK//IN back to Jett. What was the idea behind this change, and how are you readjusting to it?
SkRossi: For me, my biggest strength is to learn and adapt. Sometimes I make mistakes because of my stubbornness. It wasn’t particularly hard because I have played Jett for the past two years. I just had to regain that confidence and work on my killer instinct.
Q. What do you think went wrong on Split today, which has looked like a very strong map for the team in VCT Pacific so far?
SkRossi: Since we were dominating on Split throughout the tournament, the opponent got a chance to get a read on us since we didn’t change so much. That obviously gave them a slight advantage.
Moreover, we didn’t play like we usually do and made some silly mistakes. The communication was a bit off, and the atmosphere was a bit low. The regular stuff happens when you lose rounds, and things are not going according to your plans.
Q. You play Gen.G next week in VCT Pacific. Who is the player you look forward to playing against the most?
SkRossi: I don’t have a particular player in mind. I want to take down the entire team. The only goal is to make it to the playoffs and win the rest of the games. We must take away things from the losses and the wins and implement them in the matches ahead.
