"They stopped all of our strategies": ScreaM on Team Liquid's defeat to FunPlus Phoenix at VCT 2022 EMEA Challengers

The Super Week of VCT 2022 Stage 1 EMEA Challengers witnessed some of the finest teams from the region engage in fierce combat with their respective Group Stage opponents.

On Day 2 of the Super Week, European powerhouse Team Liquid took on FunPlus Phoenix. Despite their winning form leading up to the matchup, Liquid suffered a 2-0 defeat to their CIS opposition.

FunPlus Phoenix enjoyed a solid start to the tournament, defeating teams like Gambit Esports and BIG to gather their momentum. Team Liquid, after enjoying a 2-match win-streak, failed to overthrow their opponents on Ascent (13-6) and Haven (13-7), resulting in their second loss in the VCT Stage 1 EMEA Challengers Group Stage.

Upon claiming three wins from their 5 Group Stage outings, Team Liquid currently stands 2nd on the Group A leaderboard, as FunPlus Phoenix leads in first place with a match in hand. The standings are subject to change as M3 Champions (Gambit Esports) are yet to play three of their Group Stage fixtures.

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Team Liquid's ScreaM comments on their performance and Agent selection at the VCT 2022 Stage 1 EMEA Challengers Group Stage

In a conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Adarsh J Kumar, Team Liquid's Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom discussed his team's performance against FunPlus Phoenix while detailing the idea behind their unique Agent compositions throughout the VCT 2022 Stage 1 EMEA Challengers playoffs.

Q: FunPlus Phoenix is a team that Team Liquid has come across in VCT several times before. How do you think Liquid performed against them?

ScreaM: I think we had a terrible game. We had a 10-2 half-time score in both matches. It was a really tough game for us, for sure.

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Q: In your opinion, how did FunPlus Phoenix succeed in claiming a victory against Team Liquid in this Week 5 matchup?

ScreaM: I think they managed us well. They stopped all of our strategies and won all their important clutches; they just had a near-perfect game. They were better individually, and I think they did it differently from us. I don't think we played at our best level individually.

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Q: Since the start of the VCT 2022 Stage 1 EMEA Challengers, we have seen you leave the Duelist role and pick up Initiators like Skye and KAY/O. What is the reason behind the change, and how do you feel about the change in roles?

ScreaM: We tried out a few different Agent comps after Valorant Champions 2021. I used to play Reyna and Jett before, but we tried to change it up since we have two snipers on our team.

KAY/O and Skye are great Agents and I like playing them as well. They have a different role from what I used to do. We will have to think about where we are going with this lineup, but we will stick to this for now.

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Q: You are renowned for being one of the most explosive Reyna players in competitive Valorant. After transitioning to Skye recently, how different are the two Agents, in your opinion? Which one do you enjoy playing more?

ScreaM: It's very different. I like that you can help your teammates with Skye, but I feel more comfortable playing Reyna. In a team game, Reyna doesn't help the team; it's all about the frags. That is the main reason why I don't play it as much.

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Q: So far, in the VCT 2022 Stage 1 EMEA Challengers, we have seen each member of Team Liquid pick up at least one new Agent in the Group Stage fixtures. How has the team been handling the change in roles?

ScreaM: After Valorant Champions, we tried to make some changes to see where we can improve. Chamber came out back then, and he is an excellent Agent to play as.

Once Chamber was released, we tried to use the Agent to our advantage. Jamppi and Nivera are good snipers, so we put them on the Agent. Being a new Agent, Neon is something we experimented with. We tried it, we liked it and decided to stay with it.