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The VCT Americas League concluded its Super Week with two great games that featured teams like Cloud9, KRU Esports, NRG, and FURIA. The first game of the final day of Super Week featured Cloud9 take on FURIA, where the former took the win from the Brazilian roster. With many successes under their belt, Cloud9 is looking extremely strong moving forward into the VCT Americas League Playoffs. Both teams had much to share after the game ended as fans waited.
After the game’s conclusion, Kushal Bhattacharyya from Sportskeeda got to talk to Nathan “leaf” Orf from Cloud9. The professional Valorant player had made his mark on competitive Counter-Strike before Valorant. Coming into the VCT Americas League, he had a few thoughts to share regarding their game against FURIA.
Cloud9 leaf on progressing towards Tokyo Masters and defeating FURIA at the VCT Americas League
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Q: Furia is one of the top four teams in the VCT Americas League, did their performance today match your expectations?
leaf: To be honest, we didn’t have many expectations. We know that everyone in the VCT Americas League is strong. We know that they have put up a lot of domestic matchups because they have been playing South American teams, whereas we have been playing North American teams.
We kind of didn’t know if our style matched their style. Overall though, I think they played pretty well. They played better, to be honest.
Q: Judging from C9’s performance so far, how confident are you for the upcoming masters in Tokyo?
leaf: Hopefully, we can get into Tokyo first. Tokyo is a really cool place, Japan has a lot of fans who play Valorant. I’m looking forward to it if we go. Even if we don’t, it’ll be a really cool event to watch.
Q: How has been the improvement journey for Cloud9 since the LOCK//IN event?
leaf: We obviously made the changes after LOCK//IN, but I think so far, we have been doing things that we should do. We are not doing anything really revolutionary. We are just playing how we should be playing. There are still some rounds where we are overheating, and our time as a team kind of shows.
But I think every week we are getting better and better with more match reps, which means more stage experience. It has been very upward.
Q: Was Super Week too exhausting for the team to play in VCT Americas League?
leaf: I can see it being difficult for certain teams depending on their matchups. I think the matchups we had was good. We knew NRG would play their own game, they countered a little bit, but there is not much to counter for us as we are still a very new team.
We knew they were prepped for FURIA but didn’t know what to expect. I think our vito is very different, so it was like a bit of luck with a draw. It is definitely very mentally taxing to play so many matches.
Q: Despite an exhausting journey, how did you guys manage to play and win both your super week games in the VCT Americas League?
leaf: I think the main thing is just not overheating. I think that it is very easy to get mentally tilted or think in a zone where you think you are a hero. It can definitely punish a lot of teams. We showed them that we are a collective team and we don’t have to rely on hero plays all the time, which some teams can get into the habit of.
Q: It has been a couple of weeks since the shift in the rosters. How has the new IGLing been with runi compared to your previous IGL?
leaf: I think his IGLing is very standard, same with vanity. I think the main thing is that we have very different roles right now, and I think it helps us mid-round a lot more and to be more adaptable because we all are comfortable with our own roles and Agents.
There hasn’t been any clear difference, but I think the roles are the main thing.
Q: This is your third 2:0 victory in the VCT Americas League. How do you compare yourself to the rest of the rosters in this tournament?
leaf: I think the team to beat is LOUD. Obviously, it is our one loss, but I think everybody’s team to reach up to in the VCT Americas League is LOUD. I think Leviatan is really, really strong. All of the teams are good. None of them are distinctively bad, and they improve each week too, which is scary.
Even a team that looked completely lost at the beginning of the week can end up in the season with a playoff record. We are just going to keep on improving and focus on ourselves. If any team is looking good, we will try to take them down.
