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LOUD, one of the most exciting contenders from the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters, returns to Stage 2 as one of the favorites to win the Masters: Copenhagen. However, in their opening match of the tournament, LOUD suffered an unexpected defeat, as KRÜ Esports sent them to the Group Stage's elimination tie.
Since their formation in February 2022, LOUD have conceded only a single series, the VCT Masters: Reykjavik Grand Finals against OpTic Gaming. With an incredible track record to back them up, LOUD went up against KRÜ Esports, the most reputed team in the Latin American Valorant scene.
In an exciting best-of-three series, KRÜ Esports succeeded in toppling LOUD by a 2-1 margin, with all 3 maps coming to a close finish. As a result of this outcome, LOUD will now face OpTic Gaming in the Group A elimination tie as the two teams fight to retain their spot in the VCT Stage 2 Masters.
LOUD aspas on their performance against KRÜ Esports at VCT 2022 Stage 2 Masters: Copenhagen
In an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Adarsh J Kumar, LOUD's daring Duelist, Erick "aspas" Santos, shared his thoughts on the team's opening matchup against KRÜ Esports, and their expectations for the remainder of the VCT 2022 Stage 2 Masters: Copenhagen.
Q: LOUD had a strong start on Fracture, but faltered later on, particularly on Icebox, a map where you had a 100% win rate before. What do you think resulted in today's defeat?
aspas: Today, individually speaking, the players didn't really have the best game. There were some strategic issues that we could've handled better. But unfortunately, it didn't work out.
Q: LOUD failed to convert 5 out of 6 pistol rounds against KRÜ today. What do you think went wrong there?
aspas: Our team does tend to lose a lot of pistol rounds, so this is a point that we need to study, learn, and improve on.
Q: KRÜ Esports is one of the most successful Valorant teams in Latin America. How do you think they performed compared to the expectations you had for them?
aspas: They played very well. But without taking the merit away from them, our team's performance was weaker than usual.
Q: This was the first time LOUD played against a Latin American team. In terms of playstyle, how different is LATAM when compared to Brazil?
aspas: In the end, when it comes to comparing both styles of gameplay, Latin America is as aggressive as Brazilian gameplay. But we didn't expect them to be even more aggressive. So, that led us to actually get some tactical issues.
Q: LOUD has perhaps the best winning record in Valorant’s history. Prior to this, you’ve only lost one match, which was in the Grand Finals of the last VCT Masters. What do you think is the key to LOUD’s success so far?
aspas: Honestly, all five of our players have very good individual abilities. We also tend to have a very strong tactical game. Unfortunately, we couldn't translate that and claim a victory today. Those are the two things that are key for LOUD.
Q: The last Masters in Iceland was your first major LAN event, and you managed to finish as runners-up. After your Stage 1 success, you come in as one of the favorites to win this tournament. Is there more pressure on you now than at the previous Masters?
aspas: Individually, I do not care about this supposed pressure over us. LOUD as a team, of course, might be having all the attention on them. But due to the bubble, players themselves don't feel this pressure.
Q: You arrived in Copenhagen a few days before the tournament started. How was your scrimming experience like? Did you play against any other teams at the tournament?
aspas: I do like the scrims that we do here in Europe. But in real time, we had only two days to practice. There were some things that we learned during these two days. It was not the ideal time for us to practice, but it was pretty good.
Q: LOUD has a good chance of meeting OpTic in the Group Stage elimination match. How much are you looking forward to that match?
aspas: It will be interesting if we actually end up facing them. Basically, we will be repeating the Grand Final match from VCT Masters: Reykjavik here in Copenhagen, but in a lower bracket. It will just be really nice and exciting for us to do that.
Q: Out of the twelve teams here at the VCT Masters: Copenhagen, which team would you consider as one of the favorites to win the tournament?
aspas: I think Fnatic is a pretty strong team and is one of the favorites to win the tournament as well.
Q: LOUD were just one win away from lifting the VCT Masters trophy, last time in Iceland. With more preparation and a better record to back you up, how confident are you in winning the Masters this time?
aspas: Right now, everything has been pretty much sped up. We had more time to prepare and train at the last Masters. It was about a week's time, compared to here, where we had only two days. Even then, we had many scrims here in Europe that brought another layer of gameplay.
