"This game has no clear best team"- T1 Rossy on the current state of Valorant esports, loss against Gen.G, and overall experience in 2024 [Exclusive]

T1 concluded their VCT Pacific Stage 1 with a third-place finish after a 3-0 loss against Gen.G. Despite this result, the Pacific team has qualified for VCT Masters Shanghai as the third seed from the region. T1 had a great resurgence towards the end of the Group Stage and they carried this momentum with victories against Team Secret and Gen.G early in the Playoffs Stage to secure a return to the international stage.

T1 will field a vastly different roster this time around. One of the most consistent players on this roster is flex player Daniel "Rossy" Abedrabbo. After T1's loss against Gen.G in the lower bracket final, Sportskeeda Esports had the opportunity to talk with Rossy.

T1's Rossy talks about the team's unique strats, Viper nerfs, and Turtle Troop's chances at winning Ascension 2024

Q: Hello Rossy. Commiserations on the loss today. It seems most of T1 was pretty sick so I hope the roster can have a speedy recovery. What are your initial thoughts after this loss, as it seems like you were experimenting strats as previously mentioned in the post-game press conference?

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Rossy: I think today was a really good day for us. Sure, we didn't get a championship point and couldn't make it to the finals as we would have really loved to win. In the long term, however, this series really helped us as we learned so much. We are preparing for Masters Shanghai and are not worried about this old patch.

In the grand scheme of things, I am very happy with what happened today because it's going to help us a lot in the long term and we had really good conversations on what to do better for next time.

Q: Since you are the primary Viper player for T1, how are the nerfs going to affect your overall role within the team's structure and playstyle? What are your general thoughts on the possible meta at Masters Shanghai?

Rossy: I think a lot of people are going to have different reads on Viper. We are still trying to figure out if Viper is good or bad after the changes. Clove is definitely a possibility considering the changes. We have seen teams like FunPlus Phoenix in China using it and having success with it, so you never know. We might use it and we are still trying to figure it out before everyone else can.

For me, I am the Viper player for the team but I have also played a lot of Initiator Agents now. I did come into T1 to become the flex player to play all the Initiators and do whatever we needed. I am just happy I get to play something else besides Viper.

Q: There were a lot of doubts when you joined T1 and replaced k1ng. It's safe to say now that the move has paid off immensely for the team as you have qualified for Masters Shanghai. How has the overall experience been for you in 2024 so far?

Rossy: Honestly, it's a really blessed experience. To be honest, I shouldn't be here. I got lucky and prior to joining T1, I wasn't really that great of a player and I wasn't very popular. I was very surprised when T1 asked me. I had my confidence that I was a really good player, but I am just really grateful that Autumn gave me a chance.

I know it didn't make sense at the time and from an outside point of view, I know it wouldn't make sense to anyone else besides the people on the team. I don't blame anyone for doubting this decision since I would do it too. I am just really blessed to get this opportunity to show everyone that I am a strong player and that T1 is a good team.

Q: After the losses against Paper Rex and Gen.G, there are some sentiments that T1 may not be the third-best team from Pacific and DRX deserved to go to Masters Shanghai. Would you refute these statements as it seemed like the team was more focused on experimenting strats rather than playing at peak form? Can we expect T1 to have a better performance at Masters Shanghai?

Rossy: I hope that we can show a better performance at Masters Shanghai. Honestly, DRX went 5-0 in the Group Stage. They looked really strong. People are saying they got unlucky in the Playoffs Stage. Ultimately, we shouldn't be here in the playoffs in the first place but if you noticed, when it mattered most, we showed up and won.

Everyone had the same opportunity. I mean, you can say that we got lucky but when it mattered the most, we won. When it really doesn't matter, we are trying new things. Maybe people should try to look into it deeper and realize that we are trying new things for the long term and not trying for something that doesn't mean anything.

We have constantly proven people wrong as we have won in the most important games. People can say whatever they want but they are obviously being proven wrong. People are fans of certain teams so I get that they would be upset. I am a fan of DRX so I wish they made it too.

Q: Talk me through T1's rationale behind the Icebox pick today. Was it purely to get more practice on the map? Was the team preparing strats on this map off the server or was this something that was done on the fly?

Rossy: We were testing something out today. We didn't want to keep banning the same map and see if we have a chance at it. We had two to three days of practice on it and I think we played pretty decent. It's up to Autumn on whether we continue to play Icebox or not. Overall, I think we had a decent showing on Icebox considering we had very limited time to practice and never played the map before. I was very happy with the overall performance.

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Q: Do you have any insight on the Reyna pick on Icebox? It didn't really pan out too well for Sayaplayer. Is Reyna a viable Agent on the map or is it better for teams to pivot to other Agents?

Rossy: To be honest, Icebox is the only map where you could realistically play Reyna. She is alright in this particular map. There are probably other picks that are better, but Sayaplayer is one of the best Duelists so we are going to put him on a Duelist so he can hard carry.

He did his job today, but he didn't drop a 30-bomb or anything like that. He created a lot of space and that's what the Duelist is for. Sayaplayer did his job but some of the trading was bad. I didn't back him up that well and we didn't give him the supportive utility that he needed as well. That is what happens when we have only three days of practice on the map. It was not going to be perfect, but we tried our best.

Q: Masters Shanghai will feature a lot of new teams compared to Masters Madrid. What are your thoughts on the overall competition at this event?

Rossy: I think it just shows that this game has no clear best team. The game is very competitive right now. It's great to see and I think a lot of these people are really good. It's great to see a lot of new players as well. I am a big 100 Thieves fanboy as some of my best friends play for them. I knew they would qualify for sure.

The Masters Shanghai's participant pool just shows that the game is very competitive. People are constantly innovating. For instance, FUT Esports play a lot of interesting stuff, especially on maps like Lotus. There is no set meta in the world at the moment compared to the Astra or Chamber meta. Everyone has their own ideas on playing the game which they think is the best. Anyone can win on any given day and a little bit of luck is involved, even for us.

Q: Do you think Turtle Troop will Ascension this year?

Rossy: No

Q: Would you like to share any thoughts with the fans supporting T1?

Rossy: I just want to thank God for everything that he has given to my family and me. I really appreciate all the fans. Without the fans, I would not be playing for T1 or doing my job in general. You guys are everything to us so please keep supporting us. I know it has been a rollercoaster ride but we always try our best and I feel like we come through most of the time. We always got you guys and I know we will do great at Shanghai.

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