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Valorant Champions 2023 kicked off in Los Angeles on August 6, 2023. This is the final tournament of the year, and it will declare the world champion for the year from among 16 shortlisted teams from across the world. Alongside the title of Valorant world champions 2023, thw winner will take home a grand cash prize of $1,000,000. As a result, the stakes are high.
Champions 2023 is also the first international tournament to take place on North American soil. During the pre-event press conference hosted by Riot Games, Sportskeeda Esports' Abhipsito Das asked the coaches of NRG Esports and Evil Geniuses how they felt about representing North America in the first international Valorant event. While their responses varied slightly, both of them seemed optimistic about the prospect.
NRG Esports' Chet and Evil Geniuses' Potter share teams' feelings about being the home team at Valorant Champions 2023
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As mentioned, Valorant Champions Los Angeles is the first major tournament taking place in North America. With there being only two representatives from the region, it is natural to wonder if they feel additional pressure to perform because they will be playing in front of a home crowd.
Addressing this question, Chet "Chet" Singh of NRG Esports responded:
"I think, if anything, it gives us more of a bonus, since we have more people cheering for us compared to events in places like Copenhagen or Turkey. Last year we didn’t get that advantage, and it went more to the EU teams."
NRG is definitely the bigger crowd-favorite when it comes to North America, considering the squad has been together for much longer, and has proven its mettle in international tournaments before. The only player on this roster, who did not have much experience on LAN was Sam "s0m" Oh. Referring to him, Chet added:
"I think we will get more crowd support and more hype for each kill we get. For our players, especially the young ones like sOm, it will be nicer."
When the same question was addressed to Evil Geniuses' coach, Christine "potter" Chi, she responded:
"Yeah, definitely. I was just talking to my players about how the stage looks so familiar. It is just like our Santa Monica stage, which is our stomping ground, our backyard. But these guys are competitors. They like the feeling of being activated. The environment of going to a different place, traveling for the tournament, and things like that."
She acknowledged that Valorant Champions 2023 being in LA was somewhat of a deterrent to the team's mental space going into the tournament. However, she also highlighted the benefits that come with playing on your home turf. She said:
"It has been a bit of a challenge for us, getting into the tournament groove, but definitely helps to be not jet-lagged. Representing our home turf feels great, and it is going to be a different experience for sure."
Evil Geniuses will play their first match in Valorant Champions 2023 against FunPlus Phoenix on August 7, 2023, at 3:00 pm PT / 12:00 am CEST (next day) / 3:30 am IST (next day) / 7:00 am JST (next day).
NRG Esports will face off against Bilibili Gaming on August 8, 2023, at 12:00 pm PT / 9:00 pm CEST / 12:30 am IST (next day) / 4:00 am JST (next day).
