VCT Masters Turkey tournament has been concluded. In the final series, Futbolist faced against BBL Esports. Futbolist team become the champion by managing to beat their opponent with a score of 3-0. After the series, members of the Futbolist team answered some questions from the media.
Can we get some general comments regarding the series?
- Futbolist coach Salih ‘marqnue‘ Onaran: This is the second time we faced BBL in this tournament. We first met in group matches and beat them. Then we met in the finals. Normally, I don’t know if the team will agree with me, but we don’t practice for the Bind map at all. Bind and Split seemed to be 1-1 on the paper. I thought the actual tournament would start after the first two games. Stealing the Bind map from them (BBL) brought incredible moral motivation to the team. Later, as Split was our map, we knew how to win in it. In the third map, the momentum was on our side. We got a win streak in that map, and from there, we got the upper hand and won comfortably.
You got a very clear win. Have you been waiting for this or was it a surprise for you too? (Fotospor / Can Karabal)
- SasuKe: So we actually focused a lot on the first map, we thought if we got the first map we would get the other maps as well. It happened as we thought. There has not been much competition in the last two maps.
Although it was the map your opponent chose (Bind), you played the first half well and brought the situation to 10-3, then there was a comeback by the BBL, but you still knew how to win. What did you do wrong on the Defenders side? (Espor Newspaper / Musa Sağlam)
- sterben: We did not make a big mistake in defense, our opponent managed a comeback on the Attacker side. We got out of shape, we focused a lot on the opponent’s game. We could not get the trades and gave too many entries. That’s why there was such a comeback. But somehow we knew how to prolong the match and win.
Congratulations, you have won VCT Masters Turkey. What would you like to say about the tournament and the team in general? From now on, will we be able to see Futbolist playing in abroad as well? (Esportimes.com / Mert Erçikli)
- marqnue: First of all thank you, we are very happy to be champions. We have participated in many tournaments abroad and achieved great success. It was maybe unheard of because our audience was low. Once Riot’s tournaments were announced and started to be held, our audience also grew. We do not have many opportunities to participate in European tournaments, however, we try to participate in those we can. Of course, Europe is our goal. Right now, we actually took a huge step towards the world championship in December by winning this tournament and getting 100 points. This will be very important for us in December. Next week, we will start from scratch and play at Challengers again, and if we can get out of there, we want to go to the EMEA finals and to Iceland, to stay in the top two. This is precisely our plan and goal.
You got really stingy after mentioning that you lost Pistol rounds a lot and needed to fix them, how did you manage to do that? (LoL Mecmua / Çağatay Çalışkan)
- sterben: by transferring qRaxs (laughs)
What did qRaxs brought about in teamplay and communication? (Mobidictum)
- marqnue: qRaxs is one of VALORANT’s best players, I think we transferred the best. Already when the game was in beta, I tried to include him in my lineup. He was playing in a different team and he did not want to join. As time passed, he switched to another game, and when he came back, we had such a plan in mind as the management. We even talked to qRaxs before the Challengers tournament. He asked us for time until the end of the first tournament and said he wanted to get used to the game. Then we transferred him. His trades, position taking etc. saved us many rounds. In addition, by playing Sage, he closes the gaps of other players. That’s why I think we made a very good and correct transfer. Let me congratulate him in front of you.
You have an aggressive style of play, do you think of playing anything other than Sage, why is Sage indispensable for you?
- qRaxs: Since I just joined the team, I have been trying to fill the team’s shortcomings. Of course, if it’s needed by the team, I would consider playing as a duelist in the future. I’m trying to play the characters that the team is missing right now.
We compare teams with Europe, but how are we with other leagues? For example, have you compared yourself to NA, where are we in this comparison? (LoL Mecmua)
- marqnue: After becoming a coach, I have been trying to follow the matches of many countries. I follow all regions except South America. The game in NA is a bit more pug-style, based on a system where the players play very free, and the communication tactics and map control are not very focused. However, this system can be very difficult for teams trying to take control of the map. For example, we generally play on taking control of the map, and when our opponent plays a little pug style, we can falter here and there. But when the teams we train to play at our level, we can play games at the European level, like NiP. This meta will continue like this throughout the COVID. Until Iceland, the team has to get used to all styles of play. I think Korea, which is the leading region as far as I’m watching right now, are using their agent combinations very well. But I do not think that, meta wise Turks are behind in Europe. I say in the publications that we are at the European level. We are also getting more viewers than Europe. We are creating our own ecosystem here. Turkey has grown enough in the game and will continue to grow even more. That’s why we can play head-to-head with Europe. But Korea seems to be one click ahead of everyone else while NA is the Pandora’s box right now.
As esportimes.com, we congratulate the Futbolist once again and wish them success on their way to Iceland!
