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On day 3 of the VCT LOCK//IN 2023 Omega stage, Valorant enthusiasts from all over the world were treated to an intense matchup between two top-tier teams - Sentinels and Fnatic.
The teams have a bit of history, dating back to May 2021 when Sentinels emerged victorious over Fnatic in the Grand Finals of the VCT Masters: Reykjavik.
In this recent matchup at the LOCK//IN 2023, both teams engaged in fierce competition with elimination at stake, leading to Fnatic finally defeating Sentinels on the international stage.
Sentinels' TenZ talks about playing Sage against Fnatic at VCT LOCK//IN 2023 São Paulo
In the post-match press conference, Tyson "TenZ" Ngo, who is considered one of North America's finest talents and a standout performer for Sentinels, answered various questions put forward by the media.
TenZ rose to fame in the early days of Valorant for his outrageous plays with Jett. As he continued to develop as a player, he switched to Chamber and dazzled viewers with his exceptional mechanical skills and proficiency with the Operator.
Fans of Sentinels, however, were taken aback when TenZ opted to play as Sage in a decisive single-elimination matchup of the LOCK//IN 2023, especially given his usual preference for more aggressive Agents.
Sportskeeda Esports had the opportunity to ask TenZ about his thoughts behind picking Sage after a long time and the challenges of taking on a completely different role in such a high-stakes competitive environment. TenZ replied:
"Coming into LOCK//IN with the Sage pick, I would say it took a few days to get used to it, but primarily you have to be not utilizing off-angles like you can with Jett, Reyna, or characters like that. You have to play a lot more smart - use your utility to stall. It was just kind of reeling back the aggression a bit and playing more passive, more for info."
Out of the 308 maps TenZ has played in his professional Valorant career, he has picked Sage only 3 times, with the previous matchup being in June 2020, back when he played for Cloud9. TenZ has a whopping 63% pick-rate on Jett, with 200 maps played.
TenZ further added,
"It didn't feel too hard when we were doing it in practice before, but Fnatic were definitely pulling out some new stuff that we hadn't seen before, so it was kind of hard for us to adapt mid-game."
With a series of innovative strategies, Boaster and mini, the masterminds behind Fnatic's extraordinary win, caught Sentinels off guard and secured the victory. Fnatic won on Haven with a 13-6 scoreline, followed by a 13-7 victory on Split to seal the matchup and advance to the Omega quarter-finals.
Being a single-elimination tournament, the VCT LOCK//IN 2023 can be quite unforgiving for teams, as even a single loss results in elimination. While Sentinels were met with defeat, their performance displayed significant potential for improvement, leaving fans hopeful of their success in the upcoming VCT Americas League later this year.
