With four weeks of league-stage competition in the VCT Pacific League now over, the competition is past the halfway mark. Most participating teams have started gaining ground in the event and are on the rise to make it into the only Masters event in VCT 2023. Halfway into the tournament, one of the contenders for the Masters seats looks to be Rex Regum Qeon.
The Indonesian organization entered the tournament as one of the lowest-ranked teams on most lists, especially after its lackluster performance in VCT LOCK//IN.
RRQ spent the first few weeks finding its groove in the tournament, losing out to Gen.G and ZETA DIVISION. But the squad has enjoyed a resurgence in the League, defeating Detonation FocusMe and Team Secrets in the last two weeks.
RRQ Ejay shares insights on victory over Team Secret in VCT Pacific League
RRQ has been silently climbing the ranks and against most people's expectations. The side currently stands fifth in the table. It will be interesting to see where it ends up over the remainder of the tournament.
Abhipsito Das of Sportskeeda Esports was granted the opportunity to speak to Eroll "EJAY" Jule Delfin after the match on April 15, 2023. The entry-fragger elaborated on the team's dynamics and spoke about his competition in VCT Pacific and more.
Q. Most of the casters and analysts' desk predicted a Team Secret win coming into the matchup. How does it feel to prove them wrong?
Ejay: For me, proving them wrong feels really good. Team Secret is a really good team, and we kept playing the way we did in scrims and got the results. I think the predictions were like . . . [breaks into laughter]
Q. Who would you say is the best entry-fragger in the VCT Pacific League, and what would you say sets them apart?
Ejay: For me, it is Foxy9 [from DRX]. The way he entries and clears corners is really good and helpful for his team. I would like to play like him.
Q. How would you rate your individual as well as your team’s performance in today’s VCT Pacific League match?
Ejay: I think the team played well, and our comms were on point. We stayed composed. If I had to rate it out of 10, I would give it a 10.
Q. How is the team evolving over time, and how much impact would you say that has in your game?
Ejay: Every week, we try to work on new ideas and correct our mistakes from the previous game. I think our performances will get better with each week.
Q. What do you think about Team Secret’s no-Duelist Icebox composition so far in VCT 2023?
Ejay: I think their comp is great for executions because they have a lot of utility. But after that, once they take a site, their utils in the post-plant will be gone because they have to use it to take control of the site. In the absence of a Duelist who is able to create space, they have to invest a lot of utility to get in. Their gameplay today was slow.
Q. What factors would you say led to RRQ's dominant first half on Split?
Ejay: After the first map, we just thought, “we are one map up, let’s just play this like another map in a scrim." Our mindset after winning one map changed, and it helped us. We were just confident and played our own game.
Q. With the team’s communication looking increasingly on point with each week of the VCT Pacific League, what would you say are some of the challenges you would want to work on as a team going forward?
Ejay: Our number one problem was communication, which is improving with every week. It's hard to say anything else because our number one priority is our comms. It depends on the players and their individual performances. Some weeks not a lot of us pop off. This week everyone did well and popped off.
Q. RRQ plays T1 next week. With an increasingly impressive performance each week, what are your expectations from the VCT Pacific League match?
Ejay: I think we can do what we did today. T1 is a great team, but some of them can have a bad day, and we can be better than them. We will try new things to surprise our enemies.
Q. Do you have a message for the fans and haters to close it out?
Ejay: For the fans, thank you for your support. For the haters, keep doubting us and hating us because it will motivate us even more.