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Earlier this year, college-level Valorant rosters from all over the world convened in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to fight for the Red Bull Campus Clutch title. A total of 47 Valorant teams battled it out between December 13 and 16, 2022, to determine the champions of the Red Bull Campus Clutch series and earn a winner's prize of $20,000.
The Red Bull Campus Clutch World Finals in Brazil was the biggest tournament in Valorant's history, featuring the best collegiate teams from 43 different countries.
Alongside showcasing the blooming esports talent from various parts of the world, the tournament also featured esteemed members of the Valorant community, like winners of the 2022 Game Changers Championship G2 Gozen, Valorant streamer Keeoh, and content creators from Brazilian esports organization FURIA.
Glance talks about Valorant Red Bull Campus Clutch, G2 Gozen's aim for the 2023 VCT season, and more
In an exclusive interview with Adarsh J Kumar of Sportskeeda Esports at the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of the key members of the G2 Gozen Valorant Game Changers team, Anastasiya "Glance" Anisimova, shared her thoughts on the event.
Glance spoke about G2 Gozen's performance in VCT 2023, detailing their ascension to the throne of the Game Changers Series. She also gave her opinion on the impact of tournaments like Red Bull Campus Clutch, the ever-changing meta of Valorant, and more.
Q: G2 Gozen recently sealed their position as the best Game Changers team in the world after winning the world championship in Berlin. How does it feel to be crowned a Valorant world champion?
Glance: That was our goal from the beginning. We started our year in January by playing together with the goal of qualifying and eventually winning this. We were super focused on that. Even when we were playing VCT in our region, in Europe, we were still more focused on the Championship because it was more important.
We were super excited, and we knew we could win. When we won, I couldn't believe it the first day. The next day when I woke up, I was like, "Holy f***, I'm a champion!". It was so crazy that it was really hard to believe when you work so hard and long for it, and one day, in one best of five, you end up winning it. It's a great feeling, and I think we deserve it.
Q: G2 Gozen defeated teams like Cloud9 White, Team Liquid, and Shopify Rebellion to eventually win the tournament. What do you think was the key to G2's victory at the Game Changers Championship?
Glance: I think we have a really good synergy. We have really experienced players like Juliano, mimi, and Petra. I came in as a support player in the Controller role, and I wanted to catch up to them. We also have Mary, who is super talented. I think the positive thing is that we are friends in real life. So it's easier for us to feel what each other needs.
We also have great communication, and we know how to play for each other. Sometimes, we don't need to communicate about what we want to do. We just do it with a feeling. I think that's what makes us unique. The way we play is, we know how to play as a team. Individually, of course, there are a lot of good players. But as a team, I think we're the best when it comes down to team decisions.
Q: After your remarkable victory in the Game Changers Championship, your rival teams are likely to identify your playstyle and prepare counters for it. How do you plan to counter that?
Glance: It happened before when we were playing the VCT in our region. We always knew that when we were playing against someone, they would be prepared for us. But we never played the same way every time. Yes, we do have some strats. We would use them, like, once in a matchup, but then we would create something else for the next match.
There is a lot of room to improve this stuff and create more. The really good thing about our team is that we are flexible. All of us can play a lot of Agents and create basically any composition or strategy that we want to run, and as long as we train with it a bit, we can play it. We never do the same stuff in matches, so it's a bit hard to counter us.
Q: One of your teammates from G2 Gozen, Mary, is just 16 years of age. What do you think about the next generation of pros when you see young talent like Mary win trophies at the highest level of Valorant esports?
Glance: It's actually crazy how young people can be so good at the game. I know it has a lot to do with their reflexes, but Mary is super smart as well, and it actually surprised me a lot since it was her first LAN and stage experience. She did so well.
I feel like the biggest strength they have is their confidence. Mary is super confident, and when you play knowing that you can win, you're going to win. Every time she did something crazy, it worked. She knew that she had to try it, and if it's going to work, it's going to work. If it doesn't, it just doesn't. They don't overthink it.
I saw many really talented girls and boys. We played a showmatch a week ago against a 15-year-old guy who was crazy good. It's insane.
I'm really happy with this generation because I also feel like when I was a kid, my parents didn't really understand how gaming and esports worked. But right now, parents are more open to understanding the sport, and they support it. Mary even had a watch party of support; it's crazy.
I feel like there's going to be even younger people coming up. So maybe they should be allowed to play in tournaments even when they are like 15 years of age because they're already old enough to play on the big stage. I'm really excited to see more talent coming up like this.
Q: We recently saw a variety of Agent updates being introduced to the game, with Agents like Chamber, Sage, and Viper at the receiving end. As someone who plays Viper a lot, what do you think about those changes?
Glance: They kind of nerfed Viper. But it's also a lot because Riot wants us to play more of Harbor, who I think is really weak right now. That's why they wanted to nerf Viper at least a bit so that it would be more comparable, but it's not. It's all about her ultimate right now, which I think can be resolved by just playing in the pit.
Yes, in the past, you could run out from the ult, throw lineups, and bait for your team. But now you need to play a bit differently, and you need to ask your teammates to play with you in your ult so that you stay alive longer. It's going to be harder, but it's not like they killed her completely.
At first, I thought it was going to be worse. But I tried playing a few games. It's not that great, but Viper can still be useful. I think they need to completely change Harbor a bit, maybe change some of his utility because it's not that good compared to Viper or even other smokers. It's a lot of changes, and you need to adapt to them, but everything is fine. We'll figure it out somehow.
Q: What kind of updates would you like to see for Harbor, considering that a fraction of the Valorant community does not think of him as a viable option for a Controller?
Glance: I don't think Harbor has any stopping power. When we talk about Viper or Brimstone, both of them have mollies. Brim's smokes are really long, and he also has a great ultimate. Harbor's ult is kind of meh.
Let's take Bind, for example. He can ult in Lamps. It's going to be good because you can't really dodge the circles. But if it's like a big plant like the A-site on Breeze, if he ults, it's so easy to dodge the circles. So they need to completely change it.
Maybe they can add a burning effect to his smokes so that you won't enter the smokes; something like that can help him stop the executions. His ult should also be changed a bit. Those circles should either be bigger or faster.
I've tried him so many times in custom games when I was playing with my friends. I was really trying to put him in a valued position, but no, he's not. Maybe they'll change it; we'll see.
Q: Right now, we're on an international stage with teams from close to 50 different countries competing for the grand title. How much of an impact do you think a global event like Red Bull Campus Clutch will have on the grassroots level Valorant players?
Glance: I think it's great to see how many young players, who are all students, can play in a team environment. They're studying at a university and playing at the same time. You can see that they're talented. If the guy is playing on stage and is great, he can go professional and try to play for a great team. It's easier for those players to make their careers after this tournament, which I think is great.
It's also a good representation of various countries. I love it so much. I saw a Polish team, a French team, and many more. Those guys were great. I'm super happy that there are close to 50 teams here, that's crazy.
I really hope that some players, maybe the winners of the tournament, will find a good organization for themselves so that they can earn money from that. They're all students, and they need money, right? So if gaming is actually their passion, it is going to be crazy good for their future. I'm hoping for the best for them.
Q: Riot Games has done a remarkable job with Valorant in promoting esports for women and marginalized genders with its Game Changers program. As someone who has ascended to the top through Game Changers, what do you think about the pace at which esports is growing for women and marginalized genders?
Glance: I think Riot did a huge input into that. I was playing Overwatch at first. In Overwatch, there was no female scene. I was playing in a mixed team, and I was the only girl playing. I've seen some girls streaming and playing at a high rank, but it was never about the competition.
What Riot has done is really crazy. We've had so many tournaments, we've had a world championship and a lot of huge tournaments, and we've earned so much money from these events. They happen so often now that it encourages the young players to improve even further.
CS:GO caught up on it too, but I think they were a bit late. Riot did it first. I'm pretty sure the scene is going to be even bigger next year. I know so many girls who got inspired by my team and other teams. It's really nice when they meet in matchmaking and talk to each other and play together.
When I was playing matchmaking, I started having more and more girls on my team. It wasn't like that before. Girls are usually too shy to speak in voice chat. It's a bit awkward for them. But now they're speaking freely. I met a duo of girls speaking in matchmaking together. That's nice; I'm happy to see that. We're finally getting to a point where people see us as players, not just like girls. We can be pros, too.
Q: Valorant's Game Changers Series has seen steady growth since it started in 2021. What kind of improvements would you like to see in the Game Changers circuit next season?
Glance: We played our VCT in Europe (Game Changers EMEA Series 3) online. I would really love to see us play offline on stage. We had a bootcamp, but we were still playing against each other on a server.
I think it would be great if we could play from Berlin again, for example. Then the World Cup (Game Changers Championship) can be in NA; that would be nice.
I just think we need more offline events than just playing on your PC at home. It's a different vibe; you can also get more views out of it. I would definitely say we need more offline events.
Q: G2 Gozen are three-time champions of the EMEA region and are currently world champions. What would you consider your goal for the upcoming season of Valorant esports?
Glance: I really feel like we should slowly come to a point where we can compete against the men's teams. I would really like to do that. At the beginning of 2022, we tried to play in the open qualifiers, but we failed. So then we decided to focus more on Game Changers since we really wanted to win the world championship.
But now, I think we're slowly coming to a point where we can try, and it might be good because the open qualifiers will have a lot of teams. You will always have the chance to get closer and closer. Imagine if we qualify, we will be playing against tier-1 men's teams. It's going to be crazy.
I think our preparation is good for it, and we're strong enough as a team to win tournaments like that or maybe come close to winning it. I would really like to participate in the open qualifiers and see how it goes, and my teammates are on the same page as me on this.
