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Ahead of the VCT 2024 season, Gen.G Esports has completely revamped their Valorant roster around star Duelist player Kim "Meteor" Tae-O. The organization has signed notable names such as Kim "Lakia" Jong-Min and Kim "t3xture" Na-ra. This all-Korean roster will be looking to have a better showing in the 2024 Pacific season.
VCT Convergence 2023 will allow Gen.G to show off its new roster for the first time before the Pacific league begins. This off-season tournament will feature Gen.G along with other prominent Valorant teams, such as FUT Esports and Team Vitality. It will be held in Bengaluru, India over a duration of four days.
Gen.G's hsk and Munchkin talk about the team's structure, Karon's expected playstyle in VCT, and the strengths of Lakia
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Ahead of the tournament, Sportskeeda Esports had the opportunity to talk with Gen.G's Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-Beom and head coach Kim "HSK" Hae-seong. They shared their thoughts on the upcoming event and the season, along with the current atmosphere and goals for the team. Further insights on the development and scope of the Korean Valorant scene were also discussed in this interview.
Q: The latest addition to the team, Karon, is an unknown quantity for many viewers. How would you describe him as a player on the server, and what kind of playstyle does he bring to the team? Also, how does his personality fit in with the roster outside the game, and what can viewers expect from this rookie talent at Convergence and in VCT 2024?
hsk: Our players in the team are generally aggressive in game, whereas Karon brings the ability to hold angles more defensively. I think it is generally harder to find players who excel at Valorant from a more defensive standpoint, so I think this is something that he can bring to the table.
His role in the team is to often listen to the communication of other players and follow through, which I think is just as important as the talking side because you need people who can talk and who can listen. I think he performs well in the listening role.
In terms of his performance on stage, this event will be his first ever LAN, so I am sure there will be some lack of experience, but I think he will definitely grow over time.
Q: You were part of the DetonatioN FocusMe roster, which went 0-10. Did this poor performance affect you mentally? How thankful are you to Gen.G for giving you a second chance to prove yourself in the tier-one scene despite having a rough VCT 2023 season?
hsk: In terms of my mentality, I was not too affected by my results last season because I knew that I worked really hard, and I did not regret anything about what I did or did not do in the last season. I think DetonatioN FocusMe still likes me despite the results, so I do not have any regrets there.
I was very honored to join Gen.G and be given the offer because I was not all that confident at the beginning that this would happen. However, Gen.G gave me the chance, and the players gave me a lot of support as well so I think I had a lot of help from the players and the organization.
Q: We have seen a lot of young up-and-coming Korean talents like Karon. Do you think the Korean region can emerge as the next big powerhouse when it comes to Valorant in APAC?
hsk: Honestly, there are a lot of players with fantastic aim in Korea, but I think their level of game understanding is a little bit lacking at the moment. I think they need more opportunities to learn the game, so maybe in one or two years, the next generation of Korean players can bring the region to become more of a powerhouse, but I think it is a little bit early right now.
Q: How has the transition been from T1 to Gen.G? Has there been a shift in your playstyle or any adjustments that you had to make in this new Gen.G roster? Has there been a shift in the overall environment for you when comparing the two rosters?
Munchkin: I have not experienced too many differences after coming from T1 to Gen.G. However, the biggest difference that I think is the personality of my teammates. When I was on T1, my teammates and I tended to have a more professional relationship, and everything was very professional when I was at T1. But with Gen.G, my teammates and I are like a family, and we are much closer in that regard.
I cannot say which is better necessarily because we have not achieved anything in official matches yet and we need to see how our season turns out before I can say anything about which environment was better.
Q: This will be Lakia’s first international tier-one LAN event since Valorant Champions 2021. After this, he played for tier-two teams such as IGZIST and Dplus KIA. Do you feel Gen.G could be the team where he can make a true comeback and establish himself as a star player that many fans saw in him during 2021?
hsk: Lakia is a player who is able to spot things in the game that other people do not see. It is an intangible quality, but he is able to make calls or decisions that other players would normally not make. I think that is a really great strength of his.
Outside of the game, he has a great personality, as he never gives up. I think he is definitely going to do well in the VCT 2024 season, and people can look forward to watching him play next season.
