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Week 3, Day 2 of VCT 2023: Pacific League saw two intense matches. The first match was between ZETA DIVISION and Global Esports. A game between Talon Esports and DRX followed this match. The first match ended with a scoreline of 2-1 in favor of ZETA DIVISION, and the second match was won by DRX with a scoreline of 2-0.
After the matches were over, Rishabh Kalita from Sportskeeda Esports got an exclusive opportunity to have a conversation with Koji "Laz" Ushida from ZETA DIVISION. Laz is ZETA's IGL (In-game leader) and has several achievements to his name. In the interview, he went in-depth about their performance against Global Esports, talking about the teams he looks up to, and more.
Disclaimer: This interview was translated from Japanese.
ZETA Laz talks about their performance against Global Esports in VCT 2023: Pacific League, the importance of the Initiator role, and more
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Q. Hey Laz, how are you feeling right now?
Laz: I am very happy about the win, and I am also very relieved.
Q. Are you satisfied with the team's and your individual performance today?
Laz: Not really satisfied because on Pearl, we couldn't get too many rounds on Attack. As for other maps, not too bad. Dep was performing very good today. In other tournaments, there wasn't a tournament where he was performing at his performance level today. So I am very happy that Dep performed what he was very avowed for.
As for my personal performance, I am not at all satisfied. But I did everything necessary for the team and I would like to improve more in the future.
Q. Did Global Esports employ any particular strategy or tactic that surprised you and your team during the match?
Laz: So Global Esports being aggressive was well known to us. TENNN from the team would push forward and fight on the front. So we were anticipating a lot of what they did.
Now, I will talk about their defense. On the Pearl attack, we couldn't take a lot of rounds. So I think they are very strong for that. The little techniques and micro-skills that they did like peaking off of flashes was very good and strong.
Q. You have faced DRX, RRQ, and just now Global Esports. Which team do you think was the most challenging so far?
Laz: DRX, one hundred percent.
Q. Is there a particular Valorant team or player you admire or find impressive? If so, what makes them stand out to you?
Laz: This will be a boring answer because the teams I will say are very strong right now. I like teams with good teamwork, so I would say Fnatic and LOUD.
Q. You guys made a solid comeback on Ascent and this momentum was carried over to the next map as well. As the IGL, what calls did you make to completely shift the tides and turn the match around?
Laz: My calls, it wasn't like, 'Ok, we are losing now so what do we do, what do we do'. So it wasn't the mentally weak calls I made. The calls I made I wanted to tell the team to be confident in yourselves. So I made the calls confidently. I just made the best calls to win as a team from my experience in other tournaments and such.
As for attacking calls, I did the best I could do and chose the best calls I could make.
Q. Speaking of IGLs, it is often seen that IGLs prefer to main Initiators. Why do you think so?
Laz: I used to play Sentinel as my role. But then when I use Initiator, I can watch the enemy with my own eyes and then counter them on what we do. So by being with the main attacking site and I can lead my Duelist to take the fight up front so I can catch the best timing for our attacks. Also with the Duelist upfront and being behind them, I can have my gunfights safer. So this is going to be a bit of a comparison between the Sentinel Agents and the Initiator Agents.
But when I am playing a Sentinel Agent I can't see the enemy with my own eyes because I am often far away from the main attacking site. However, when I am playing Initiator, I can be with my main attacking site, with my teammates, and then see the enemies with my own eyes.
Also, because this is a comparison between a Duelist and an Initiator, as a Duelist, you need to have a little bit of concentration to shoot and have a gunfight with the enemies so the Initiator role is good for IGLing.
Q. You will be facing Detonation FocusMe next, who are also from Japan. What do you think of them?
Laz: DFM has my ex-teammates in the team and they also have xnfri and Anthem who has a good reputation among the Japanese competitive teams. Also, Suggest being such a good Korean player, I think they are a very good team.
Q. In addition to playing Valorant, what other activities do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Laz: Since the League started, I am trying my best to play Valorant and touch Valorant from when I wake up and go to sleep. I haven't touched anything else yet.
ZETA DIVISION's upcoming opponents in VCT 2023: Pacific League are DetonatioN FocusMe. The highly anticipated match between the two Japanese giants will take place on April 16, 2023.
