"Sayf is the smartest player in the world"- Team Vitality's Salah discusses Sayf's role and runneR's playstyle ahead of VCT Convergence (Exclusive)

Team Vitality is one of the six participants in the VCT Convergence event that is set to take place from December 14, 2023, to December 17, 2023. The tournament will take place in Bengaluru, India. It is a big milestone for the Indian Valorant scene to have teams of such high quality, like FUT Esports, Gen.G, and Team Vitality, participate in an off-season tournament. Fans can expect plenty of exciting games and see glimpses of the capabilities that some of these rosters can bring into VCT 2024.

Team Vitality is one such roster that has been revamped ahead of the upcoming VCT season. The organization has opted for an ambitious project yet again centering around rookie talent and established players to form a dark horse team that is capable of quickly developing and being one of the best in the world.

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Team Vitality's Salah goes in-depth about the importance of Sayf's voice for the team, ceNder being an IGL in tier-one VCT, and the overall development process of the players

Ahead of the VCT Convergence event, Sportskeeda Esports had the opportunity to sit down with Team Vitality's head coach Salah "Salah" Barakat, and ask a couple of questions. Salah had high praises to sing about the rookie Duelist Emil "runneR" Trajkovski and former Team Liquid player Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel. The head coach also delved into the team's structure and overall vision of the game.

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Q: A lot of people do not know much about runneR and what to expect from him coming into this event and VCT 2024. Could you shed some light on how runneR operates as a player on the server and as a teammate off the server as well?

Salah: Something that people need to know about our team is that we have five big “p**** players.” (Laughs) Jokes aside, we have five very smart, calculated, and non-risk-taking players.

There are certain players who are explosive and can break open a server, but they can also lose you a game. We do not have anyone that can lose you the game. We do lack a little bit of explosiveness, and we do lack a little bit of a crazy guy who can just run in and kill all five players for no reason, but that is fine.

From runneR, you are going to see somewhat of a Derke type gameplay. Derke is the best duelist in the world, in my opinion, because of the way he plays. You will never be able to catch Derke off-guard or trolling except in very rare situations. He will always be good for one or two, and then there are rounds where he gets all five.

I think runneR is very similar to that. I am not gonna put him in the same boat as Derke since I want him to be his own player. In terms of playstyle, he is very smart, and he will always take the high-reward low-risk shots. He will always put himself in a favorable position and he is extremely coachable as well.

He also has a very interesting upbringing. He has been through a lot of hardships. Some of the things he had to overcome and do in his life have been simply amazing. He used to be quite overweight and lost a lot of weight. Now, he is built like a Greek god. He is a really good kid, and I think you can see it in his mentality and his playstyle. He is smart, rarely messes up, and an amazing kid who has a bright future.

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Q: Sayf has often been known for being a very vocal player, which was made quite prominent during his time on Team Liquid. Do you think Sayf’s leadership qualities and voice in the team can help ceNder grow more as an IGL?

Salah: I do not know how it was in Team Liquid for him, but in terms of our team, it was something we wanted. When he joined the team, I told him that I wanted him to be the secondary IGL and a leader within the team. I sat down with both ceNder and Sayf and told them that they were the leaders of the team in different ways.

Sayf’s input in the roster has been absolutely amazing, and I lacked this so much last year. I think ceNder is an incredibly smart player and is incredibly good at a lot of things, actually. In terms of Sayf, I think he is the smartest player in the world. I have been with a lot of players, but I have never seen someone this smart. Having a voice like that should not go to waste. For example, a lot of coaches and IGLs often feel like their voice is the primary one to be followed.

My approach with Sayf is that I want his input, I want to know what he wants to say, and I want him to be a leader. His input has allowed me to go up three levels, and his input towards runneR and Kicks has allowed them to progress so quickly and get so good at a rapid pace. I think he is a big voice in our team, and we want him to do that, and we encourage him to do the same.