As we head into Round 2 of our Valorant Playoffs, we sat down with Edward “edamawee” Wee, team captain of LEO3.0 from Republic Polytechnic (RP) to discuss the team’s performance and their preparations for their upcoming grudge match against Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP).
Hi Edward, congratulations on the team’s performance in the tournament. Could you tell me what has your experience been like in Campus Legends thus far?
Honestly, I have been having a great time playing with my friends. At the start, we formed a team and played just to see how far we could go, but so far, I think we have done pretty well. Now, our expectation is to get into the top three. I think we are the underdogs going into the next round, but I feel that we can pull it off. Overall, it has been a fun experience and I am hoping we can win more games.
It sounds like you have a solid rapport with your teammates. How long has the team been playing together?
It started when I got to know two of the players, Xondd and Reagzy. I met Xondd in my first year of polytechnic. He was one of my classmates and I found out he was pretty good at Valorant. I thought it was quite rare to meet someone who played as much as me and had the same level of skill.
As for Reagzy, I knew him since secondary school. He is by far one of the best players I know. He was the one who suggested we form a team for Campus Legends. Our last two players are from the same course as me in RP.
What were the team’s expectations or goals coming into the tournament?
To be honest, I did not know where we stood in this competition. I did not even know where we stood in RP. It was only after playing the Open Qualifiers that I realised we are actually the best team in RP. Playing in Groups and watching all the other teams made us realise we have a good chance at winning the whole tournament.
You have had several solid performances in both the Group Stage and Playoffs. How much experience have you had with first-person shooter (FPS) games?
I have been living and breathing FPS games for the past eight years. I started by playing random free-to-play games then moved to CounterStrike: Global Offensive while I was in Secondary 2, around four or five years ago. It was just casual matchmaking with friends, but I began treating it more seriously after I started using FACEIT, which is an external third-party matchmaking service that helped me get higher quality games.
My transition to Valorant was a bit late. I played the beta but only picked it up religiously in 2020. Most of friends made the switch instantly, but I think I have managed to catch up to them.
Your next game will be against NP, who you lost to twice in the Group Stage. Does the team have a gameplan to deal with them?
As the in-game leader, I am in charge of controlling my players and coming up with the strategies to win. I will usually analyse how our opponents play and find the best solution to beating them. My mistake previously was that although I had a rough idea on how to beat NP, we did not practice this new composition enough as a team. Like the Neon pick kind of shocked my teammates, but on paper I knew that it was the agent that could beat them. As a leader, I feel like I failed to adapt. Also, some of my calls were bad on those days.
To beat NP this time, I think everyone needs to bring their A game. Personally, I feel like I need to be able to do my research, come up with good strategies for my team and be able to adjust to their playstyle on the day.
Of all the teams you have watched and played against, which team are you most cautious about?
I have to say that NP has really impressed me. To begin with, the calibre of their players is pretty strong, but their co-ordination, executes and individual skill is definitely up there. And with NUS coming in as favourites, I also have to give credit to SP since they beat NUS twice.
If you are feeling it that day and popping off or if the other team is not as sharp, I think that it is anyone’s game.
What would you say is the team’s greatest strength in this tournament?
Our team is very momentum-based, so once we start winning rounds, it is very hard to stop us. This applies to be personally as well. As a player and a caller, I can be very emotional. It works as a double-edged sword. If I am feeling hyped up and confident, I can start making plays, radiate that energy to my team and get everyone more confident.
Our communication lately has been pretty good too and everyone on the team has the skills or mechanics to make hero plays.
Right now, agents like Chamber, Jett and Sova are constantly being picked by every team. What are your thoughts on what seems to be the default composition and the current meta as a whole?
Jett has fallen off a bit since the nerf, but it is very hard to replace her as a Duelist that can take space easily, which is why she is still being heavily prioritised.
But right now, Chamber is by far the most picked agent. Every team has a strong Chamber that can just ult and defend sides. He also has strong mobility with his teleport, so he has become of the biggest problems.
For the main meta, not much has changed so it feels a bit stale. Every team has their Jett, Chamber, Sova, a smoker and another Duelist or Initiator like Skye or KAY/O. KAY/O has been really strong recently too.
But overall, it is all about which team can get more opening picks and play default better. People are not really experimenting with agents like Fade or Yoru but it will be interesting to see if other teams will try to be more unique and play around with different agent compositions.
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