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Week 7, Day 2 of VCT 2023: Pacific League saw two intense and closely fought matches. Rex Regum Qeon and Global Esports competed in the first match, followed by a clash between T1 and Team Secret. In the first match, RRQ won the match against GE with a score of 2-0. The second map also followed a similar scoreline of 2-0 in favor of T1. RRQ won both maps of Fracture and Pearl with scores of 13-10 and 13-11, respectively.
After the matches concluded, Rishabh Kalita from Sportskeeda Esports got the opportunity to interact with EJAY. Eroll Jule "EJAY" Delfin is a professional Valorant player from the Philippines who currently competes for Rex Regum Qeon. During the interview, the esports athlete shared his favorite moments from their match against Global Esports, their upcoming opponents, his preferred pastimes, and more.
RRQ EJAY talks about team's weak points, upcoming opponents in VCT 2023: Pacific League, and more
Q. What do you think of your performance today? Are you satisfied, or do you believe you could have done better?
EJAY: I think I am satisfied already with my performance today. I showed what I am capable of. My team was hyping me also to perform, and I mean, they were hyping me up, and that made me perform.
Q. Did Global Esports do anything differently today that might have caught you off-guard?
EJAY: Yeah, I think it was Map 1. They were playing Raze, they were playing double Duelist, and we didn't really expect that. Before, they were playing only one Duelist, I think. We managed to read how they play as well because we have been scrimming a lot of teams that play double Duelist on Fracture, and we just played how we did in scrims.
Q. What were some of the moments from today’s match that stood out to you?
EJAY: I think it was the Ace for me. I think it was the Ace in Fracture. I really didn't expect that I could get that Ace because I thought I could get only three kills from that round because I was stuck already and I got no support from my team. I only did it individually.
Q. Of all the teams you have faced so far, which team do you think was the most difficult to play against?
EJAY: For me, I think it was DRX. Because we know that we were still not in that form on how they play, we are still improving as a team. We didn't really expect that we could've got that one map from them. So yeah, I think it was DRX.
Q. In a previous interview, you mentioned that the team struggled with coordinating in the match against DRX. Were these issues addressed for today’s match?
EJAY: For the last (match), I think it was the third map. We always fall on the third map. Good thing we managed to secure the second map. We just made a lot of mistakes, but we still close out the map, so I think if we lose that second one, it will be a big mental issue for us. We are going to have an issue again because we always choke when we lose the second map.
[So, were they solved for today's match?]
I think we solved it during the second map. We tried to make no more mistakes and play as a team, and coordinate as well.
Q. If you had to highlight three areas where you believe the team needs to work more on. What would they be?
EJAY: I think for us, it would be playing together when we have the man advantage already. The second is our communication issues. Sometimes we overcommunicate with each other. I think the third is the retakes, like how we retake each site.
Q. You are a Duelist main. Since you are well-versed in the role, what would you say is the most difficult part of being a Duelist?
EJAY: I think for me, being a Duelist, the hard part is when the team needs you to get those first kills in order for us to get the man advantage and enter as well. I think every Duelist needs to learn how to get the entries, like the first kills, in order for the team to be easier to get into the site.
Even though you don't get the first kills, at least you get the space. So I think getting the first kill and taking the space is the hard part of being a Duelist because if the enemies have a good anchor, I think you will have a really hard time playing against it because you are going to get utiled out.
Q. We are nearing the end of League Plays and have seen performances from all the teams multiple times. Based on their performances so far, which team do you think is the most underrated and deserves more attention?
EJAY: I think for me, the most underrated is Global Esports. They think they really are a bad team because of their performance during the past weeks, and I think before the Gen.G, they were saying that GE won't have a chance. I think they really showed good matches the last week and this week.
The second map was really difficult than the first one, but we managed to take those. They are really a good team, and I think they should get more attention than those top teams.
Q. When you are not playing Valorant, what other activities do you like engaging in?
EJAY: Sometimes, I just watch K-Drama, watch some clips on YouTube, watch some Twitch streamers, and when I feel sleepy, I just sleep [laughs]. After that, sometimes we got out as a team. We go out to eat, to shop. I think it's a really good time not just to play Valorant during this kind of league because sometimes playing too much, for me if I play too much I get bored.
Q. You will be facing Talon Esporst next. What are your thoughts on the team, and how do you guys plan on approaching the match?
EJAY: Against Talon, I think we just need to prepare more. Just like how we prepared for this match today against GE. We just need to be more coordinated, less mistakes, be more confident in each of our fights, and yeah, just play as a team, and we can win from it and just play normally, just like how we play in scrims.
Rex Regum Qeon will be facing Talon Esports next in VCT 2023: Pacific League. This highly anticipated match is scheduled to go live on May 14, 2023.
