"I am really lucky to have a team that I can lean on"- Sentinels' coach, kaplan, on his challenges during VCT Masters Madrid (Exclusive)

VCT Masters Madrid is hosting its final match. The two remaining teams, Sentinels and Gen.G will now be competing for the first Masters trophy of 2024. Day 8 had one match scheduled where Americas' Sentinels and Pacific's Paper Rex faced off against each other. The two teams had previously played against each other during an OFF//SEASON event where Sentinels won by 3-0.

The matchup saw similar results, as Sentinels won the Bo5 (best-of-five) series, dominating Paper Rex 3-1.

In the post-match conference of VCT Masters Madrid, Sportskeeda Esports' Sneh Jadhav had the opportunity to talk to Sentinels' coach, kaplan, during which he said:

"I am really lucky to have a team that I can lean on."

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Sentinels' kaplan talks about his biggest challenges as a coach during VCT Masters Madrid

Sentinels' stellar performance during Americas Kickoff made them strong favorites coming into VCT Masters Madrid. Valorant enthusiasts were curious to see if they would be able to continue the same form during the international event.

So far, Sentinels have exceeded expectations in some matches. During the post match conference, Sportskeeda Esports asked Sentinels' coach, kaplan, on what his biggest challenges had been during VCT Masters Madrid. Here's what he said:

Yeah the biggest challenge is playing really good international teams that play very differently than Americas'. Fighting burnout as a team and as a coach. This is probably the first tournament that on a personal level I've ever felt like at points 'Is there anything left in the tank before it's over' and it's an awful feeling and one I would like to avoid ever having again."

He added:

I think on my end I could focus on health to mitigate that in the future and delegating more but at the same time, I am really lucky to have a team that I can lean on, you know. That's part of it for me. I can say, "hey I need to lean on you guys or you guys need to step up today" and they can do it, including Drewspark as an assistant coach and that's been a big part of it. And yeah, I think that's probably the biggest challenge personally and I think as a team as well."

He went on to say:

The other biggest one would be maintaining the ability to focus on ourselves in the face of extra public pressure, extra expectations, extra stakes, right? Obviously this is a more exciting situation to be in, Grand Finals in Masters Madrid than a random group stage game and Kickoff. But at the end of the day, the formula to doing our best, which is the best way to win, is focusing on ourselves. Just have to figure out new ways to stay focused on that despite the context of the games."

With this win, Sentinels will now face Gen.G in the Grand Finals of VCT Masters Madrid. This will be their second Grand Finals appearance at an international event.

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