forZe forZe Inactive SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin Art1st Vyacheslav Lyadnov Coffee Nikita Antsypirovich , a CIS-based organization, entered VALORANT by signing the roster of EveryBodyDance in the beta.

At the time, EveryBodyDance had taken the title in three tournaments and went undefeated in a qualifier they participated in. The Russian-language roster was on the rise and forZe swooped in to nab some of the region's best talent.

Since the game launched, forZe has finished second in two weekly tournaments and competed in the Epulze Valorant Prodigies tournament, where they exited in the group stage.

Early signs appear to point to CIS and the wider European region to being rich in VALORANT talent. forZe is competing to be one of the early flag-bearers of the regions, looking to turn their beta success into post-launch glory.

To get to better know the team, vlr.gg took the opportunity to interview both coach Vladimir PNUKH Chervov and player Nikita Coffee Antsypirovich.

The following is translated from Russian:

While your players have extensive histories, you are somewhat of a mystery. Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to coach VALORANT?

PNUKH:

I was a professional hockey player in past but also have over seven years of coaching experience, from high school coach to faculty of sports psychology.

During this period I also played CS. In 2006 performed in the CIS pro scene in CS under the nickname b-zEr as part of team АА[black] (graver, kyky, HEL1, dark, mo3ru, b-zEr). But at the time esports brought in practically no money and was nowhere near the scale it is now, so I decided to focus on professional hockey. Despite my choice, I still continued to play casually.

While completing in professional hockey, I watched the upsurgence of esports and had great desire to be involved again. But I understood, due to various circumstances, that I couldn't be a pro player and therefore decided to stay in hockey/coaching.

This was until Riot Games announced VALORANT, which immediately impressed me. I realized that this was my chance to break into eSports. After I got a key, I devoted all my time into learning the game: playing, watching streams of top players, analyzing games of top teams and so on.

I decided for myself that I would go into coaching esports. After two months of playing VALORANT, I sent out a resume in which I talked about myself and my vision of what esports teams needed in order to achieve results and stability:

I think that in esports there is an overall lack of discipline. Full dedication during each training session, a strict regime, balanced nutrition, and the ability to overcome difficult are all commonplace in traditional sports, but less so in esports. Anyone who has given a professional sport at least 5-8 years, even without having achieved any outstanding results, will understand the effort required.

With the support of forZe, my experience gives me the chance to change the approach to training. And what will come of it? Only time will show ...

Before being signed by forZe, the team previously played as EveryBodyDance. Were you already coaching the team before the acquisition, or did you join afterwards?

PNUKH:

No; I had only known them at the time as a successful CIS team who played in big events.

By the time I was with the organization, forZe was already looking at EveryBodyDance. Since I followed all the top CIS teams, I would have supported their choice anyways. If it were my choice entirely, I would have also chosen this roster, since other teams, I think, would have difficulty with my vision of teamwork, discipline and communication.

Why exactly forZe and what has changed since joining the organization?

PNUKH:

ForZe is one of the best organizations in the CIS, as well as a recognizable name in the world of eSports. After receiving an offer from the organization, I almost immediately agreed.

Since joining ForZe as coach, the collective level of responsibility and motivation has grown. We've made it a goal to win together with forZe, to please the fans of the team and sponsors of the organization (in particular the Lukoil company, who actively supports eSports).

What are the strengths of your roster?

PNUKH:

Despite the little time that has passed while coaching these guys, it is apparent that there is cohesion and mutual respect. They manage to overcome any game difficulties without blaming each other, as is often the case in other teams. I am also impressed by their passion for self-improvement. And of course, they are all high level players.

But we still have a lot of work to do, both in-game and out. We communicate and bond a lot in addition to training time, which helps relieve in-game stresses.

Coffee:

We have a professional approach to teamwork and as teammates are all invested in each others' development. I also want to note the positive atmosphere of the team, persisting even in difficult gaming moments, which is not typical for many CIS teams.

In your opinion, do abilities in VALORANT radically change CS-style gameplay?

PNUKH:

"Radically" is a strong word. Personally, for me, abilities add a lot of variability to the gameplay, especially ultimates. Choosing different agent compositions based off maps and playstyles also allows for a lot of strategic depth. I wouldn't be surprised if there are picks and bans of agents in the future.

Coffee:

For me personally, it's not fundamentally very different, although thanks to ultimates and abilities, it opens up a lot of gameplay possibilities.

Why choose VALORANT over CS: GO?

PNUKH:

There's a lot of controversy on this matter. Counter-Strike is a legendary game, but in my opinion and in my view, CS out of date. I have a long history with the game. I remember those times when I played in gaming clubs at the beta 3.0 stage in 1999...

I don't want to say that VALORANT is just something new. There is also the feeling that it's the best of many games is combined, and despite the large number of moving pieces (agents, abilities, etc.), the game is still well balanced. VALORANT is a new frontier with more opportunity for new players in esports.

Coffee:

VALORANT is a lot like CS:GO, but for me it's better because the there are much possibilities and variation in VALORANT. I also like the responsiveness of developers have for their playerbase: if there are glitches, they will be quickly fixed.

Does VALORANT have a future in professional eSports?

PNUKH:

Even pre-release, it was well received around the world. It is well-made with utmost attention to detail and the developers are actively patching bugs and monitoring balance.

This is Riot Games. Even during closed beta, we've seen many tournaments of different levels take place. We already see VALORANT at FACEIT, GLL and many other gaming platforms, so I think the answer is apparent.

We'd like to thank PNUKH and Coffee for taking the time to do this interview with us.

The full forZe forZe Inactive SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin Art1st Vyacheslav Lyadnov Coffee Nikita Antsypirovich roster is currently: