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Valorant Champions 2021 witnessed one of its most exciting bouts on Day 6 when KRU Esports secured a 2-1 victory against Sentinels to eliminate it from the tournament.
Sentinels entered the tournament as one of North America's strongest teams and a serious contender for the title of Valorant Champions. However, after two consecutive losses, Sentinels made its way out of the tournament.
KRU Esports, Latin America's sole representative in the tournament, pulled off an upset against Sentinels in an electrifying best-of-three series. After conceding the first map to the Americans, KRU pulled off a miraculous comeback to win two consecutive maps.
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The final showdown on Split brought out the best of KRU Esports, as the team has qualifed for the playoffs of the Valorant Champions 2021. In a conversation with Sportskeeda, Mazino from KRU Esports sheds light on the team's performance in the tournament.
Mazino talks about KRU Esports' victory against Sentinels in Valorant Champions 2021 Group Stages
The Latin American squad comprising of Joaquin "delz1k" Espinoza, Roberto "Mazino" Rivas, Juan "NagZ" Pablo Lopez, Angelo "keznit" Mori and Nicolas "Klaus" Ferrari has qualified for the quarter-finals of Valorant Champions 2021.
Mazino from KRU Esports had a conversation with Adarsh J Kumar of Sportskeeda after the team's victory against Sentinels in the deciding match of Group B.
Q: KRU is the only South American team to play in all 3 Stages of VCT Masters. How did that experience help you guys before coming into Champions?
Mazino: We've basically evolved so much over the course of the various stages of the Valorant Champions Tour. You can see the difference in our performance from Iceland to the Stage 3 Masters in Berlin. We've improved even more and we plan on getting better as we progress through the Valorant Champions.
Q: As the only team to represent Latin America in Valorant Champions, how was your experience throughout the tournament?
Mazino: The whole tournament is a bit complicated due to the covid cases among players. Personally, I'm feeling absolutely perfect after today's win.
Q: KRU looked excellent on Fracture yesterday against Furia Esports. Fracture was your first map pick against Furia and Sentinels. Considering its a new map, what made you guys make it your first preference?
Mazino: We're really comfortable playing on Fracture. That's why we chose it as our first map-pick in both matches. But I think the nerves associated with playing on such a complicated map got the best of us on both occasions.
Q: Nagzet missed a lot of his shots and didn’t play like his usual self. He definitely made up for it with his performance on the 2nd and 3rd maps, but is there anything specific that resulted in his performance on Fracture?
Mazino: It's normal for anyone to have a bad day. I had a bad start on Split. It took me some time to play like my usual self. It's something that can happen to any player. But it's a team game, so we're together in victory as well as defeat.
Q: As you might know, Haven is one of Sentinels’ strongest maps. How did you manage a comeback against one of North America's best teams on its favorite map?
Mazino: We of course know the patterns of play of several teams, but we try to play our specific playstyle. At the end of the day, we know we have a better mental game than other teams, and we just proved it today.
Q: EMEA teams were the first ones to qualify for the quarter finals. Do you think they’re the best region in Valorant? How does Latin America compare with the other regions in Valorant?
Mazino: EMEA teams have proven to be the best Valorant region so far. They have a lot of strategies that have worked along the tournament. But regarding Latin America, we lack the resources EMEA and NA have. We also lack the professionalization of Valorant and other esports in our region.
Q: Throughout the tournament, we’ve seen that your coach has been very vocal during timeouts. How good is he, and how does his presence help the team?
Mazino: More than his energy, he helps us by calling precise timeouts. He knows exactly when to pause the match to calm us down and remind us to play our own game.
Q: Before coming to Valorant Champions, how did KRU prepare to face opposition from all parts of the world?
Mazino: We didn't have a bootcamp unlike most other teams who came to Valorant Champions. We had been traveling a lot since Stage 3 Masters. Because of that, we took a small vacation in between and returned to Berlin three weeks prior to the tournament to get back on track.
Q: As you know, Vivo Keyd were involved in a Cypher-camera exploitation controversy a couple of days ago. You play Cypher yourself and you’ve played against Vivo Keyd before. What are your thoughts on the controversy?
Mazino: It was a very difficult situation for both Acend and Vivo Keyd, and it really affected them throughout the tournament, especially since Keyd had to face elimination.
Q: After your incredible performance today, you guys have definitely proved that you can defeat the best teams in the competition. How confident are you in winning Valorant Champions?
Mazino: Every team here has a chance to win the Champions. It's everyone's objective, and ours hasn't changed since the start of the tournament. Our eyes are locked on our objective, and regardless of who's in front of us, we'll go for that victory.
