A tactical shooter created by Riot Games.VALORANT” competition scene “VCT Pacific Kickoff' will open on February 17th.From JapanZETA DIVISION(hereinafter referred to as ZETA)DetonatioN FocusMe(hereinafter referred to as DFM) will participate.
◆Tickets to the international tournament “Masters Madrid” go to two teams
VCT Pacific is one of four international leagues along with Americas, EMEA, and China, and consists of this Kickoff, two regular seasons, and three international tournaments (Masters Madrid / Masters Shanghai / Champions). All 11 teams participating in VCT Pacific will compete at Kickoff, and the top two teams will be given the right to participate in the international tournament “Masters Madrid” to be held from March 14th (local time).
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ZETA's first match from Japan, against Global Esports, will be held at 7pm on Saturday, February 17th, and DFM's first match, against DRX, will be held at 7pm on Sunday, February 18th. As these are the 3rd and 2nd games, the times may change depending on the content of the previous match).
Other match cards and other information can be found on the VALORANT esports page (VALORANTESPORTS.com)Please check the schedule.
Event overview(From press release)
・Group Stage (February 17th to 21st)
– February 17th, 19th, 21st: Starts at 15:00 Japan time
– February 18th and 20th: Starts at 17:00 Japan time・Play-in (February 22nd): Starts at 15:00 Japan time
・Play-in (February 24th-25th): Starts at 17:00 Japan time
・Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/valorant_jpn
・YouTube：https://www.youtube.com/@VALORANTjp
Here are excerpts from the Q&A with Laz (ZETA) and Anthem (DFM) from the pre-conference held for the media prior to Kickoff.
◆ZETA DIVISION: Laz player
–Please tell us which team you think is a strong opponent.
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Laz：I think both PRX and DRX are quite strong.
–What kind of difficulties did you face with the roster changes from last year?
Laz：New members have joined and we have been practicing with a new approach that is different from before. It was tough because there were so many new problems, but the two new players are young and good players, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they'll do this year.
–With the new coach Carlao, how is communication and practice going?
Laz：When it comes to practice, Coach Carlao passes on his knowledge and we work together to find what is best for the team. Regarding communication, we directly hire players who can speak English, but we have one interpreter on the team, so we basically work through a Japanese interpreter.
――Last year, there were many scenes with a slow tempo, but has the tempo changed with the addition of new members?
Laz:Of course, the tempo will change depending on the map, but I think it will be faster than last year, mainly because the slow tempo map “Haven” has disappeared.
◆DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM): Anthem
――Please tell us which teams you think are strong opponents and which teams you are paying attention to.
Anthem:We won 0 games last year, so we are at the starting line where every team is better than us. I don't have anything to carry on my shoulders, so this year I want to give my all to all the teams with the spirit of challengers.
–There was a lot of feedback on the roster change on February 5th, but please tell us about the background to the change.
Anthem:I can't go into too much detail. The members had been decided for a while, but when we had to make some changes as a team, all the team members thought about it until the last minute and made a decision. All that's left is to do our best.
–How have you been feeling with the roster changes and scrimmages?
Anthem:I haven't been able to practice that much since I became the current member, but since the four of us were on the same team, I feel like I'm getting good at working together and communicating, and I'm still working on strategies with my coach. Just keep practicing. I feel like it's okay.
–What is your impression of teamwork and communication from the roster changes to practice?
Anthem:Four of us are Japanese, and one (Medusa) has been playing for a Japanese team for a long time, so we can communicate fairly smoothly in Japanese. The quality of briefings and feedback has also improved. I think it's going smoother than last year.
“VCT Pacific Kickoff” is scheduled to open on February 17th.
