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Valorant Champions Tour commenced their 2022 circuit with the Stage 1 Challengers tournament earlier in January. Week 1 of the tournament witnessed reigning champions Acend take on SuperMassive Blaze.
Acend and SuperMassive Blaze faced off in a Bo3 fixture which witnessed the reigning champions dominate their Turkish opponents in consecutive rounds.
After a rough start, Acend took the first map, Ascent, to overtime, claiming the win with a 14-12 scoreline. They followed up with a one-sided victory on Bind, a map they are renowned for in the Valorant community.
In a conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Adarsh J Kumar, Acend's Aleksander "zeek" discussed the team's preparation ahead of VCT Stage 1 EMEA Challengers and their expectations for the Group Stage.
zeek talks about Acend's preparation for VCT 2022, Challengers Group Stage, and meta changes in Valorant
Q: It has been two months since Acend's victory at the Valorant Champions 2021. Can you describe the feeling of entering the Stage 1 Challengers as the reigning world champions?
zeek: It felt really good back then. However, right now, it feels like just a title to me. We just want to win more and it (Acend's Champions 2021 victory) doesn't feel as impactful since a lot of people think we're not favorites to win this tournament, (with many) saying there are teams in EU that are better than us. We just have to stay calm with our title and prove ourselves by winning another one this year.
Q: What has Acend been up to since the Valorant Champions tournament? Can you walk us through the team's preparations ahead of VCT 2022?
zeek: We took a long break after Valorant Champions. Everyone went on a vacation and spent time with family. We started playing once we came back. However, January was a bad month for us. We had a few practice sessions that didn't go well.
We got back on track as we neared the Stage 1 Challengers. All of us arrived at our bootcamp here in Warsaw to prepare for the tournament, and stayed back here as well to play our first match of the Group Stage.
Q: What are your thoughts on SuperMassive Blaze's performance today?
zeek: They caught us off guard. We didn't expect them to play so well on Ascent. They were hitting a lot of crazy shots, particularly on me. However, we just needed some time to warm up.
SMB had a lot more time to warm up since they competed in the Qualifiers. On Ascent, we regained control of the match when we switched gears to tune into our best performance. As for Bind, there's nothing much to say; they got crushed.
Q: What do you think about the remaining teams in your group?
zeek: We watched G2 play against Fnatic. Even though the game was interesting, it didn't look like high-level gameplay to us. I don't think we're scared of anyone in our group.
I think Guild looks the best in Group B. Since they're a newly-formed roster, they have this honeymoon period where they can dominate teams based on their individual skills. That's what we are wary of. Their roster looks really interesting and we really want to play against them.
As for the others, we already know these teams. We played a few practice matches against G2 after their roster changes; nothing super special. You can also see it in their games. We're looking forward to playing against everyone. Every roster is new, so it's going to be interesting.
Q: So far in the VCT EMEA Challengers, we've seen a few teams pick up Chamber and Neon, the newly released Agents. Can we expect Acend to incorporate these Agents into the team composition anytime soon?
zeek: Yes, we have a few funky, special compositions prepared for the other maps. We didn't change anything on Ascent and Bind for today's match because those are two of our best maps. We feel like the Agent comp we are going with is the meta for those maps, at least until more changes are made to the Agents.
Q: As a professional Valorant player, do you find it difficult to adjust to new meta Agent compositions in each tournament?
zeek: Our team is quite flexible in terms of adapting to changes. Every time there is a change, I feel like we get the gist of how the meta works. That's what we are known for in the manager and coach communities in Valorant. So far, they have had only good things to say about us.
We don't really care about the meta changing. In fact, that makes it more exciting for us because the game is constantly evolving without becoming boring.
Q: Acend arrived at the VCT Stage 1 EMEA Challengers as the #1 Valorant team in the world. How confident is the team in winning the Challengers?
zeek: We're very confident. It's hard to compare (our performance) so far. Today's game looked pretty shaky, but only during the start. So, I feel like we are still favorites to win our Group.
We don't know about the whole tournament yet. We came in with no expectations. We will just play and give our 100%, and to be honest, I cannot really tell if we will win or not.
