Offseason is boring so ask away. (I can't/won't talk about 2026 roster moves or certain dramatic events from 2025...)
25
AMA about coaching in VCT
posted in
Valorant Discussion
Comments:
Threaded
Linear
Donnie "Elevated" Chell (born December 6, 1988) is an American Coach who is currently working for Global Esports as a Coach.
is this who I’m speaking to rn
How was the transition from Assistant Coach to Head Coach? Was it as complicated as you thought?
It was hard because we hadn't been able to really establish a team culture so I was coming in with a lot of team issues to fix on top of preparing for games week to week. The actual Valorant part was much easier than team management.
how did you get to know TMV? also what was working with coach preston "Juv3nile" dornon like?
I met TMV while we were both signed as content creators for Acend. We were both making analytical content and nerded out about the game.
I learned some tac fps stuff from juv3nile and did a lot of the anti/comp creation work.
How to coach, and how do you even come up with ideas in the first place?
A lot of watching games and even more time just playing around in customs, thinking about cool stuff you can do with agents. I also spend a lot of time looking at stats and trying to find things people might be missing or doing suboptimally.
A lot of my comp theory comes from playing dota/dota2 and magic the gathering for decades
I see, thanks for sharing 👍
Is it true that aace once trialed for GE? If yes, what do you think he lacked at that time?
No clue about Aace. He's super skilled though, having scrimmed FENNEL a lot
Definitely the team comradery and watching players level up in real time. I also loved the exciting feeling on game days
Do you ever find yourself having cultural or language barriers between you and your players that make you feel like you can't coach as effectively as you want and if you do how have you overcome this so far?
For me the hardest part culturally was just the out of game connecting with players. It was sometimes hard to have deeper conversations about stuff because of language barrier.
But in game there were not really any issues communicating ideas or feedback. Some issues comming complex ideas during games in English though during freeze time and timeouts
I thought it would be easier for players to pick up new Agents but found our comps restricted a lot by what people felt comfortable playing.
last question
how much authority does a headcoach have
and do u all create and discuss the comp or only hc creates it and the rest build strategies around it
Depends on the coach and team. I think ideally the HC is the final say and controls everything as most players have a biased and partial view of things. That being said, some teams it's probably better to collaborate more of your IGL is super experienced (ie. Booster, ange1, saadhak)
What are your thoughts on igling? Do you think it’s something that should be heavily emphasized as like a real “role” only a certain type of player can do? Or do you believe most tier 1 or at least experienced players could do it to an acceptable level?
IGLing is 3 main things. 1) Vision for the game. 2) ability to communicate that vision. 3) confidence to inspire others to believe in your vision.
A lot of people have 1, less have the skills for 2 and 3. IGLing can definitely be taught and developed but it also requires a specific kind of person to really love the work necessary to be a great IGL. You've got to be the one with the solutions when things go wrong and that requires a ton of self confidence and a lot of preparation
Yeah probably. Hard to find anyone with a similar level of consistency and high level results.
Making analytical content. I really like figuring out why and how things are being done.
Also I played sports growing up so I understand team dynamics and teamwork pretty well compared to a lot of esports only people.
How stressful (or fun) is it to be in the coaching rooms during games? And do you wish you were playing on the stage sometimes lol
I know you can’t talk about 2026 roster moves at all, but I just wanna put GlamPasign on your radar. He’s a China T3 player (so no vlr profile), fluent in madarin&cantonese, English, and Korean. He’s genuinely the best T3 talent I think I’ve ever seen, and a lot of us on VLR have been talking about him and looking into where he’s going. Has been playing around with his roles a bit, even spent a little time igling for 2 small tourneys, and mostly plays senti and duelist. Goated ahh player, would reccomend spending a second to check him out.
who do you think will ascend from pacific? having scrimmed most of the teams i assume
do you think its better for teams to pick up proven t1 talent that had a bad year(tex,com)
or unproven t2 talent that have decent skill(NOT cane/ion) but more like chloric/kyu/seven
Depends on the team's needs for sure. I think it's pretty obvious though that the most successful teams are a mix of experienced veterans and some fiery new talents. But really a lot Depends on the cultural fit and role fit as well
What do you do in offseason and how do you improve players mechanical ability (what makes GENG and PRX player ability different than other teams)?
Offseason is time to rest, reflect and try to come up with better solutions. Also maybe look for a new job depending on the person.
Most players need to grind the game a lot to be good at it. But a lot of people waste their time by not approaching ranked and DMs with a purpose
Why didn't y'all play that Skye Gekko Harbor Ascent comp from the GE announcement? Would've won at least one game fr
who is the most mechanically gifted player you ever got to coach or work close with in val
how important is a dedicated mental coach for a team? cause its been a common topic this season with certain teams
Not very. In esports there are very few performance coaches who are adding real value. A head or assistant Coach should be able to do most of that stuff anyway.
The mental game is super important though so if the existing staff can't handle players in that way then it might be worth looking into. It also really just depends on the teamand the players. Randomly adding a mental coach to every underperformed team will probably fix like 5% of the.
Back in the big scrims in early 2025, where up to 90 players were scrimmed, did you have a different choice(s) about certain player(s) instead of the players you ended up with?
Yes a few different opinions but I also only saw the last 30 or so and probably had the least input
The simplest answer is trust. You can do a lot of dumb stuff but if you do it together with full trust you'll be pretty successful
POV you are G2 and you are doing map ban against DRX in Champs elim. It is your 2nd ban and the remaining maps are Corrode, Ascent, and Bind. What map do you get rid of?
How important is it to have a player locked to a role? I feel like people should just play what they are comfortable on the map like what PRX and NRG do rather than having a player locked to a role like controller, iniaitor etc.
Flexing is good but I think having dedicated support players is very useful so people can get used to the util timing of their setup. But, I wouldn't be afraid to let someone play an "off role" if everywas on board and the comp made sense
That makes sense. Honestly seeing NRG win with great team play and not necessarily the best players in the world but the best team gives me a lot of hope for you guys next year. Good luck to you and the team, cheering for it
hi coach, do you scrim with tier 2 teams mostly from kr and jp only because of locations? or do u also scrim with SEA tier 2 teams? any tier2 team / player impressed you?
We scrimmed a lot of China and some select T2 teams. I liked scrimming NAOS, Motiv and FENNEL the most.
Hii Elevated!!! Who are your top 3 picks for the upcoming Pacific Ascension, and who do you think has the best chance of winning this year and why
Motiv, BOOM and Nongshim. But there have been a lot of surprises this year.
What do you think of DFM's calling and plays in Stage 2 after benching Art?
We didnt play them in stage 2 or scrim that much, they seemed pretty random, just running around and fighting though. Was surprised how many games they won tbh...
(Idk if you can answer this) Does GE scrim with VCTCN teams often? If so whats a team that surprised you the most that didnt end up performing in stage 2
Yes! Pacific and CN have a huge advantage over other regions because you can scrim an entire other league of tier 1 teams. Trace were always good scrim partners and I expected more from them.
If a lower rank player starts to play valorant with the intention to go pro what are the key areas in the beginning should he focus on? Should it be on aim and movement and stuff from the start or should it be more about winning rounds and ranking up first
Mechanics have to be at a certain level to even consider playing pro. After that, consistent communication and stable mentality >>>> continuing to work on aim.
what are good ways to deeply learn about the game? i've watched every single tier 1 game live (excluding emea bc timezones) for the past 2 years (before that i was watching only internationals), but i feel like my analysis is at a much different level than certain knowledgeable people like sliggy/frost/etc who publicly watch the games and i can compare my analyses to
valorant is my first tacfps, i was a semi-pro fortnite player back in like 2019 prior to valorant but i assume my lack of tacfps fundamental experience has some to do with the gap in knowledge
Yeah I mean some tac fps stuff is best learned from CS people but watching a ton of games and actively questioning why things are happening is the best way to get better at it. Also, dont take even experts word as gospel. Sliggy and frost know a lot but they are also wrong or attribute things to wrong reasons on a regular basis.
The fastest way to learn is on the job though.
How do you dissolve player disputes? Especially if a roster change is not an option at that point in time
Get everyone in a room and talk it out like adults. Also understand when giving a bit of space to process and reflect is necessary.
I would like to know of this information too, if yes how free are they, can you take 1 per halftime?
YEAH we don't see coaches take redbulls often does riot tell them not to take the redbulls to keep the display clean or do many teams not like redbull after being exposed to it for years
Yep, there's another redbull fridge in the team ready room too. You can be totally cracked out if you want to be but one coffee and adrenaline was usually enough for me.
Top 10 players in Ascension Pacific. Also, which pacific tier 2 players (not including players from NS or BOOOM) would you like to coach
Top 10 is too hard but I'm excited to see how motiv, riddle and naos stack up against nongshim and boom!
what are your genuine thoughts on GE's poor performance over the years, do you think its the players, team chemistry, or coach/management problems
It's extremely hard to build the perfect team from scratch on the first try. There's a reason why every single successful team has periodically made a few changes to achieve their best form. Also, genuinely some very bad luck with visas and stuff has played a role.
I know youre doing your best coach, cant wait for what youll be cooking for the ge fans next season. Wanted to ask how you go about planning out your prac days with the players during the season
Server time and theory with the day's focus into a set of scrims, break for food, more scrims, vod review most day's.
Some days were "match days" no break, play to win, only two timeouts etc.
I dont play the game to rank up, I play to test ideas or learn new agents. A lot of my ideas dont work. Also I'm old with terrible mechanics.
When i tried to rank up 3 years ago I peaked in diamond (before ascendant was a thing) playing yoru and omen.
what is the best way to go from an analyst to AC to eventually HC position? also when drafting comps for certain maps how much should I prioritize comfort over ideas over meta? like obviously i'm not gonna put my duelist on viper or my sentinel on waylay - but is trying comps something that is a good use of scrim time or should we be prioritizing trying ideas and set plays rather than comps in scrims?
Lots of questions. Analyst job is different than AC and HC. If your goal is to lead the team as a coach then you need to focus on building complete systems and structure for the team and documentation for all of your ideas.
Building comps starts with map macro understanding and then trying to fit your ideas about what is good to your players. Often players won't be able to play exactly how orbwhat you want so then you need to adapt to what you can get to work. After that its a mox of refining ideas, throwing out stuff that doesnt work and then adding in new wrinkles to keep ideas fresh and evolving.
something i wanted to ask watching champs: i saw some questionable vetos like NRG vs MIBR and NRG vs FNC (Upper) that let NRG have the upper hand on map pool when teams could have put them on disadvantage but seemingly chose not to (MIBR choosing to play Abyss and Corrode, two NRG good maps, and letting bind slide twice when it was at the time NRG terrible map and MIBR decent one its an example). when it comes to vetos how its the strategy of picking it? do you prioritize your own good maps even if its good for them too or try to make the enemy uncomfortable when you have the chance?
I think there are a lot of mistakes being made in vetos. That being said, sometimes you think you have the perfect anti on a team's good map, other times you just had a bad week of scrims on your good map. Sometimes you want to hide stuff and other times you have a bad read. There is a lot of behind the scenes stuff that also can impact the veto but yes, I do think a lot of veto decisions are questionable.
I tried to used as much objective data as possible when doing mine but sometimes your IGL just says they dont want to call a map or would prefer to okay something else and you try to make them comfortable.
yeah sometimes i dont understand the thought process behind some vetos. like 2023 loud was statistically the best team itw on haven and they Just avoided it as much as possible for some reason. but might be just behind the scenes stuff. thanks for the answer goat
why do you think it is so hard for players to pick up agents especially at the lower tiers some players seem to pick up agents no problem and adjust quickly to slight or big differences in play styles whilst other seemingly can't play agents that fit there style perfectly
example
aspas to yoru yoru seems like the perfect duelist for aspas get in get out percentage plays complete awping freedom and lurk spots/around the world plays
on GE you seemed to have alot of it im asking generally is it a EGO thing or more actual reasons like comfort,player style
Yeah I mean most top players have focused primarily on their mechanics. Developing mechanics is much easier if you're not thinking about how to use your agent so they stick to comfort.
Once you're habitually playing 1-2 agents without thinking it feels really bad to have to think about your utility and complicate/slow doing your reactions. Most players dont like the feeling of seemingly becoming worse at the game while they learn something new and not enough people emphasize the fun parts of being creative and trying new things.
i always had this question in the back of my mind, seeing the size of strat docs in cs i wonder how much strats do you coaches typically cook for a game,
also do you believe in approaching every other team differently as preparing more to counter them or do some minor tweaks for the opponents and just work on your strengths and weaknesses
I think it depends on where you are at as a team. Very hard to try and actively counter another team if your own team is still a bit shaky on how to work together.
Usually focusing on own game with a few small adjustments to counter clear enemy tendencies is the best balance.
Lol you don't. Over coaching in timeouts was a big problem i needed to fix between stage 1 and 2. Simple, clear adjustments that dont require complex thought to understand.
why does flexing seem so hard in pro play? yes I get there's preferred roles and all that, but you can see guys like f0rsaken just letting his play style meld the way he plays the agents, while others are stuck on specific agents, being unable to learn agents in the same role even(e. g playing Jett and not raze or vice versa)
would U rather be playing than be a coach?
do you think that it's better to build a core slowly and build chem or pick up a ton of stars to get success?
is it worth it in VCT to develop weaker players? like picking up someone who has insane potential but isn't showing it now
Most players can only play their best when comfortable and most players are only comfortable on a couple agents.
Developing players is super important but requires a lot if skill that few coaches have. However, finding underrated players who have strong drive, mental and mechanics in tier 2 is one of the best ways to level up your team.
Why didn't you run the crazy no duelist Clove Harbor Ascent comp from your coach reveal video in even one game?
Haha, it was hard enough to convince the team to run yoru and tejo this year
thoughts on veto as an agent? people have been saying he feels OP but wanted to know what you thought
Seems like he does way too much and has some totally habit breaking mechanics that are going to take a lot of time to adjust to. He's going to feel awful to play against and that alone is reason to run him.
if players are getting tilted, how do you try to calm them down during a timeout, halftime or between maps?
Remember they are human and treat them as such. Remind them to breathe, what the goals are, why are you doing this and that no one cares about their mistakes. Refocus on the job to be done in the next round.
Would you have kicked a player like benjyfishy after a full year of underperformance or do you believe in staying patient and hoping you can still unlock someones potential? It seems like most times the right rookies just work more or less immediately.
Also what is your philosophy on "forcing" players on roles they are better in rather than those they feel more comfortable in like woot on duelist
I think we have seen some very good stuff from benjy and assume his interpersonal/vibes contribute a lot to heretics success. Different metas can drastically impact a player but also having a year of footage on his playing habits is probably making it easier to anti him.
I think role comfort is super important but also if a player hates a role it can be hard to force them to play it. However, a good coach will be able to recognize what a player is best at and put them in positions to use those skills.
What do you think about nAts' 1st year as an igl, and do you think nAts suits all of the core fundamentals of an igl. Finally, do you think Team Liquid can improve internationally next year or not, from this year, where they were grouped in all international tournaments.
Yeah I was really impressed by him this year. I think TL are a couple roster moves away from being a title contender.
What are some pointers you'd give to a HC that isn't in T1 on long term goals within the scene? (Collegiate coach + uni student rn). This will be my 2nd year coaching our university's team, but I'd love a few pointers. We are T2 collegiate. (One game off qualifying CVAL last year rip)
Read coaching books by great sports coaches. Look for ways that you can simplify and refine your ideas and systems. Look to include more objective data into your decisions and dont be afraid to innovate and also dont be afraid to throw out ideas that dont seem to be working.
Ares is the next big gun and yoman is actually nasty with that gun (trust)
Will you give Tory Man's Valorant the nepotism remote AC job? Otherwise i'm afraid he wont be able to afford all the oil he needs to purchase to properly oil up. :(
Yes, they have some obvious holes that you need to properly gameplan for but there's no real reason they can't work at least for a few games.
Okei some actual questions u can talk about, feel free to answer as many or little as you want:
- is the letter q or g better? Pls be very detailed and provide evidence
- favorite disney princess?
- solve (dy/dx) + y = e^x?
- Do you think skibidi toilet has maintained its message of a connection between Hollywood cinema and the meme world and do you believe the directors point of the bridge being possible to be crossed? Or has the original value been lost since its inception into meme culture and gen alpha and monetization with being added to fortnite?
- best ares skin?
- What is your exact annual salary?
- Have you ever watched a :3 game? Did u see the match yesterday😿
- Are you happy?
--SPECIFIC QUESTIONS--
- What experience of qualifications did you have before starting coaching? What would you recommend people try to do to enter the career? Would you recommend people trying to enter?
- Why no GE flair?
- Do you plan to stay in coaching or this field for the rest of your career? Or do you view e-sports as temporary due to the profitability issues.
- Which player on GE do you think is most likely to push a pull door?
- Hi :D
- did u read the m4 report and have u read any of his new stuff and has he shown signs of improvement in your eyes?
- what made you wanna do this ama?
- Where ur name come from?
- What made you go for the mid-season changes of picking up dropped players from other teams?
- How much do u pay ur players and staff and how much do most teams get paid?
- How many plays are made on the spot based on how the team is playing and how much has been pre-set and decided before the match evens starts?
- is ur twitter/x pfp ai generated
-
G. More versatile, better use in abbreviations/slang. I'd rather be a G than a Q.
-
Pocahontas. Mulan.
-
I haven't done algebra in 20 years, not starting today.
-
... 6-7?
-
Monkey King
-
Less chicken nuggets than Bonkar.
-
I have not.
-
Generally yes.
-
20+ years playing and coaching organized sports, 8 years of making analytical esports content. Don't try to work in esports unless you love being underpaid and overqualified.
-
Don't know how to set flair.
-
Coaching is the first job where I have felt both satisfied regularly after my day is over and also lets me have a positive impact on other people.
-
Deryeon
-
Sup
-
I read the first 3 pages.
-
I like sharing things i have learned and no coach has done one on vlr as far as I know. We all lurk here but no one interacts with the community.
-
My favorite thing to do is Snowboard. I like being at high elevation in the mountains.
-
Necessary shake up, had to choose players with an easy visa for korea and Japan.
-
I dont pay anyone. Just an employee.
-
Most rounds have basic structure but the majority of the game is made up as you go. Ult rounds tend to be more structured.
-
Yes
Do you think your personal approach to coaching is unique (or just quite different) compared to other coaches?
Also if TMV became FNC's coach, where would they place this year?
I think that I have a bit broader of a perspective because I'm older, not a pro gamer and have quite a bit of experience outside of tac fps. Is it better? Not in some ways but I do feel well equipped and definitely more creative than many coaches I have met.
If TMV coached fnatic they would play Viper on every map and he would be joining Boaster in some elaborate theater kid walkout. So probably undefeated
How does one become an analyst or (assistant) coach for an organization? Knowing your background as an analyst and having some online presence can help build your credibility I'm assuming, but do you purely get scouted/picked up because of that or have you gotten such roles in the past based on your own initiative/reaching out to organizations yourself? Additionally, what advice would you give to people striving to achieve similar roles you've achieved in the VCT space?
You're correct that having an existing presence is helpful. After that its just asking for opportunity and actively pursuing it. I cold emailed several teams and applied to every single "open application" that happened during the 24/25 offseason
How much difference did it make having Platoon and mCe in stage 2 compared to stage 1? Can be about during prac or vibes or strategy
Obviously it was nice to have some help. I don't necessarily think that mCe and I had the best synergy since we both have very strong ideas and like to be leading things but we are also mature enough to give eachother space to work and are able to compromise. I also learned quite a bit from him and his wealth of experience.
Platoon was great and I found his unique expertise and perspective very helpful.
Do you have any tips for working on turning mental mid match? i find it difficult to stop tilt during a game but don't struggle once it's over. Anything that you say to players that works the most, or any actions that seem to work best? I gotta give u the most respect because you've responded to literally every question and I appreciate your work as well.
Depends on your players for sure. Sometimes just making people laugh is enough. Other times you need to just simplify and refocus people on a specific easy goal like, "just hold this position this round". Giving tilted people a simple job can help shift their brain from the past mistake.
-
Do you have internet in the coaching room PCs to look up a vod or something?
-
why do coaches have so much printed material, cant you have stuff on the PC?
-
Are you continuing on GE for 2026?
-
how easy/hard is it to anti the drx mosquito comp?
1) honestly, I never checked. Your logged into the game and you have access to a mixer for audio, but no you're definitely not allowed to be looking at the vod.
2) you're watching the game live and need to check notes. They definitely dont let you bring in like a USB drive or log into Google drive for notes.
3) no news to report yet
4) I think I'd probably anti it with a comp more so than micro stuff. But you can definitely predict the Waylay pathing and probably could come up with some decent protocols to avoid taking the bait.
means a lot if you answer all of them to your best ability
- GE skirossi when?
- why do some players bring these big ass cardboards to practice/matches (Ive seen narrate and someone on t1 bring them)
- be honest here: whats the reason why GE is not doing well in VCT
- peak rank
- is the pay as good as the players or are you payed more/less
- how do you make players learn agents quickly
- another agent pool related question: do most players switch up their agent pool before going pro or do they run the same agent pool when they grinded ranked.
- best coach of all time
- do you have to have pro experience to become a coach
- if you had to give out an MVP award of the entire vct 2025 season, who would it be
- do you think CS is harder than VAL
- top tip you can give to aspiring pros
- do you make your players train mechanics and if so how long (aim trainers/deathmatches)
1) already happened
2) that's the box for the mousepad so it doesnt get creased/folded.
3) I can only speak to last year. We had no consistency. Roster, coaching, visa, meta. So many problems and not enough time to solve. Building a good team takes time and a strong vision.
4) diamond 3 years ago
5) likely less but idk and depends on the team
6) force them to instalock the agent 40 or 50 games in a row. Also i always learn the agents and provide notes
7) most players focus on ranking up by playing comfort/carry agents. This makes them inflexible and bad for a team. It's something you have to kind of beat out of them ina team environment and also cater to. Flexibility is the least appreciated skill in the game.
8) probably mini currently
9) no but you need to be able to lead people who are much better than you.
10) nAts, aspas or f0rsaken. All 3 of their teams would be mid or worse without them.
11) very different game. I haven't played it since CS 1.3 or whatever. Different skillset and mentality. Similar fundamentals.
12) become a good teammate. The game is not about you or your score. Winning rounds is the only thing that matters. Whatever you have to do to do that is your job.
13) yes but most players have some sort of routine already. I focused more on stuff like pistols, util, trading.
The worst is that sometimes things are out of your control despite your best effort. You can do a good job then get unlucky, have players tilt, make the wrong read or simply get out shot and out played. You still get the blame regardless.
What are some of the most important things for players to work on outside of the game, like their diet?
Most pros would massively benefit from implementing a real routine. Sleep, diet, exercise and a consistent pre-match approach that allows them to routinely settle into the right flow state for playing matches. Aspas is notorious for this and (shocker) he's consistently the best player in the world.
In terms of game planning and strategy, are these based mostly on your scrims or is there data you look at your also help make these decisions. If so what type of data do you look at?
Yeah you try to take in the whole picture, side win rate, tempo tendencies, which players take what fights. But also too much analysis leads to overthinking your own gameplan.
It was stressful as hell but I am grateful to be able to compete in the VCT
what goes in to deciding whether it's worth trying to experiment with a completely new comp?
on one hand by playing the current meta you play something relatively reliable
on the other hand there's a higher potential reward by taking a risk on a comp which hasnt been played yet in officials (alongside the fact that trying an experimental comp takes up practice time)
I think playing meta is good for learning maps you might not have the best theory on. However, I think it's pretty clear at this point that leading the meta is always better than following it.
How useful do you think it would be to teams to have an analyst that could also fulfill the role of a performance coach?
In your opinion, feel free to be as vague as possible. What went wrong with 100T since Shanghai last year where they placed top 4, to never being able to qual for another VCT event
And do you think a complete rebuild like they are doing now is what you would've done if you were the 100T GM
Obviously impossible to say without being in the team. However, from the outside it looked like a combination of a few things. I think they kind of lacked a coherent team identity and vision. Too many players baiting and playing for individual impact. Also I think they never really figured out their roles and how to set everyone up for success, possibly by being too rigid in their comps or meta reads. But again I have no real idea.
hey coach, i am back again with a few more questions;
- Which role do you feel is the hardest to play at the highest level? (all have almost equal importance i understand, but which role still takes the edge; as in under most scrutiny or needing the most game-sense or responsibility anything)
- When you talk about theory of a team, what do you generally mean by that? Is it lineups, good idea on how the map plays out or anything else
- Why do you think the two star duelists in zmjjkk and aspas couldn't pick up yoru, since they are good on op couldn't something's style of play work with them?
edit: meant op not yoru
1)I think the difference between a great anchor/lurk and an average one is insane. Also, the true top tier support players (scan or flash) really make a huge difference.
Honestly the game is great because all roles have potential for incredible impact at tier 1 level.
2) theory to me means your ideas about agents, utility, maps, rotations etc.
3) I think yoru is intimidating for jett players because it requires real foresight and thought about your next 2-3 moves. I think Yoru is actually relatively easy to learn at a playable level but the amount of nuance is super high. I think people get stuck on the nuance of the perfect flash or tp lineup and it makes them afraid to just treat him like a Chamber that can also entry which simplifies the agent a lot at a basic level.
Thoughts on the challenger teams being able to qual for stage 2 playoffs and potentially qual for champs? And do you think we will actually see any challenger teams qual for champs 2026?
The qualification part is very cool. I have other worries about how it will affect T2 teams long term. It's definitely possible for it to happen and T2 teams may have a slight advantage of being less visible and harder to prepare for
- Whos your favorite challenger team for stage 2 playoffs?
- Would you rather 1 all role flex player or 2 two roles flex players?
- What's stopping Japanese (org & player) from taking over apac?
- Do you save money before diving into esport (for finance security) or just raw doging it?
- Do you have a say in deciding the coaching staff?
1) all the rosters will be different so no clue. If you meant Ascension then, nongshim or motiv.
2) more flex > less flex
3) I think their vct teams haven't had the best ideas. I also hear that T2 jp is too comfortable and so players aren't as hungry. But idk, there is definitely talent there. Maybe a smaller player pool who can speak Japanese.
4) I've been very much taking a risk on esports. My first 5 years doing youtube full time were super rough and scary financially. Recommend having a backup plan.
5) yes
I have no idea to be honest. I think maybe they lost confidence which had been allowing them to play so well in stage 1. They were walking on water when we played them on stage and then scrimming them in stage 2 felt like an average team.
I think they have pretty good players and coaches so it was weird to see such a big fall off
What type of player that are the most valuable a team could have? Is it the frag heavy guy or the 90%kast avg initiator guy?
Starting with a player advantage is one of the best predictors of winning. But truly elite support play is hard to find
Why not both? Practice with a purpose and small goals instead of autopilot
First, thanks for the reply.
Can you expand a little more on aim training with a purpose? As a noob, when I go into aim trainers all I'm thinking about is, "click on the dot." For deathmatch I can see what you mean like oh practice jiggling then wide swinging or practice jump spots then a quick peek. But for an aim trainer I'm not sure what small goals I can set for myself other than click on the dot and try not to miss.
Yeah i was mostly referring to just running around in DMs aimlessly. But also with aim trainers there is definitely a difference between running kovaks tasks while listening to a video on another monitor versus full focus on the task trying to feel how you move and learning from the immediate feedback.
Also, specifically picking tasks based on what you feel like you're least skilled at.
Also, maybe I'm projecting my own inability to focus during aim training lol
Tons. Most just look at the match pages but I'm sure you all bait people to click on some of these threads
Honestly, the Indian passport has too many issues getting into countries. Visa issues kill team's chances way too much to risk it
Can you rank the 5 top teams in Pacific with the highest ceiling in terms of potential. Excluding GE. Can be in order or not, doesn’t matter.
I mean most of the rosters will probably be different in 2026 but if we are going off of this year.... DRX, PRX, Nongshim, Talon, T1
First off I want to say, Elevated is a real one for spending some time with the community, i am not the biggest GE fan but I still watch all their games religiously (for pbvious reasons). Thanks for all the answered questions, I dont think anyone can describe how grateful the community is for this opportunity.
Question: when the team is down bad on the final map of a close fought series, what are the kinds of discussions you have during some of your final time outs with the players.
Once again thank you for your time
Yeah no worries dude, happy to talk about whatever I can.
When we are behind the timeouts are usually focused on either rallying some energy and reminding the guys what we are doing or making a specific adjustment or round call to just get 1 round to turn the momentum. Reminding them, the score doesnt matter, focus everything on this next round and win it so we can then focus on the next one.
You said playing tejo was hard, but how hard is It was hard to play an agent that had 2-4 kayo nades that you can place using a tablet in a space of 40 seconds, a drone no one could see and could suppress you if it saw you and a stun that could rebound.
He has the Kit of 3 agents
He also had the easiest kit made To man that a Chimpanzee could play. The highest playrate in stage 1 China, Pacific and Americas. Is that a coaching issue or a player issue?
Tejo wasn't hard to play. It was hard to convince pro players that he was a good agent and that they needed to learn and practice him. Most pros I have met across multiple teams and regions are very set in their comfort agents and tend to play the game as a gun first, utility second exercise.
Thanks for the responses, I have no question lmao but all your answers have convinced me to become a flex player, I shall learn all agents.
Lol amazing! I will say, I think the correct archetype for a flexible pro player is to specialize in a role (know every Agent traditionally in that role) and then also have 2-3 agents from a secondary role also mastered. This gives your team a lot of flexibility to play with comps.
A true flex player is a lot more rare and harder to pull off. F0rsaken, Chronicle and Asuna being some of the major examples of players who have to constantly redefine what their job is in the team and still keeping high levels of impact.
Can you genuinely increase your reaction speed by constantly playing the game? Also do grips really matter in pro play or it's just comfort
I've read a study that as people age (I'm talking like 40s and 50s) you can reduce or eliminate the degeneration of reaction time by playing games.
Honestly I dont know and I'm not an expert on stuff like specific mouse grips so I won't pretend to have an informed opinion on that.
Well, I'm still under the GE banner but in a hypothetical world where im looking for work again, I am happy to coach any team in any region.
what games did you play / coach before and how did it help your knowledge of val
I grew up playing sports and then got into esports during Halo 2 MLG era. The more relevant stuff would be Dota1/Dota 2 and magic the gathering sort of informing my comp theory.
i've read most of your responses, and if you're doing some more replies (i pray) i have a couple questions:
-
in a lot of responses to questions about certain teams in apac or teams you see potential in I see you give nongshim quite high praise. What makes them stand out closer to the top tier APAC teams, despite their results not living up this year? And in your opinion, what were their biggest weaknesses this year as well? I assume a lot of the negative will boil down to inexperience from their young players, but you have a lot of experience playing and watching against them so your input will be so much more valuable than my speculation.
-
What are your thoughts on the balance of the game right now? (not including veto, but also interested to hear you rehash your thoughts on him)
-
What do you think are the best, and worst maps in the game (not including Breeze due to how long it hasnt been in tier 1)? Quite a subjective and opinionated question but I'd like to hear what and the reasons why.
-
I'm unsure about your expertise in CS, but what do you think are the biggest differences in Valorant and CS IGLs? To elaborate a bit more, it seems like in Valorant, it seems like not only teams are willing to switch up their IGLs more often, but players who haven't taken the helm are also more likely to pick it up comparatively to CS, and also perform better game by game. Do you think that players are just a bit more forward thinking in Val, or do you think the role is a bit easier to pick up comparatively to CS?
-
Who is a player this year that really exceeded expectations in your opinion? Could be any region, but if you had one choice for every region that would be great.
-
How is asia? and thank you for your time. wish more staff or players would do this but I understand why they don't
1) So part of my praise for NSR is that we scrimmed them quite a bit early in the year and those scrims were always a total war. I feel like they kind of lost their way in the middle of the season and tried to conform to "regular valorant" before realizing that they needed to just lean into what made them good. I'd say they were probably a top 5 team in the region at the end of the season.
2) I think the game is in a very good spot. We of course had the Tejo meta but the tournament of the Tejo meta was won by double duelist. The main stuff before Tejo and double duelist was the double sentinel which was very good against the Neon stuff but gets countered by Double Duelist. Now I think given enough time would see a shift back to double or even triple initiator to fight the double duelist since it invalidates sentinels but gets owned by agents that can fight better as a team. Obviously the new patch will change all of this but I think it's a very good sign that we are starting to see this sort of rock paper scissors cycle happening.
3) I am a developer's best friend tbh. I like all the maps, all the agents and all the guns. I think at this point my least favorite is Lotus just because it's been popular and has seen very little meta evolution. I really like Corrode.
4) I have essentially zero hours watching pro CS so hard for me to comment. I will say that I think Valorant favors a more "on the fly" style of player and calling because of how many variables there are to account for round to round.
5) My favorite on the rise players were a mix of guys who came out of nowhere like Cortezia and those with high expectations to lived up to them like Kaajak. Also always a big fan of player re-inventing themselves in a successful way. Like Keiko did on smokes.
6) Absolutely love Korea and really enjoyed Japan and Singapore as well. I think my personality fits pretty well with the Asian cultural values of order, personal responsibility and not trying to draw too much attention while just working hard.
It seems elevated knows ball. Now for the real question will you coach delighted so he can get out of iron?
lmao you piece of shit coach don't even realize the problem is fucking ban, deryeon, and yoman
this is GE's last year in franchising if u don't lock in, I guarantee you no matter what roster you'll have it will still perform like shit
you lost mCe and Platoon as well, it's just already wraps for gopal midsports
Yes, quite a bit. He's a menace. We started buying 2 shotguns on every defense round to counter his Neon lol
How much do head coaches take breaks / rest in the off season?
I've heard from kaplan and other coaches in their youtube documentaries or whatever that after their season ends you'd have to basically immediately think about who plays in your roster, start scrims/tryouts/whatever, scout players. I'm curious how true is this and can you get burnt out easily in the off season thinking about this lol
Probably depends on the team/org. Most take some time off and honestly, it's really important to reset, see family, etc. I was working 7 days a week for 8 months, very much needed to just stop thinking about Valorant for a few weeks.
But now youre spending double digit hours talking to VLRians.
✊🏻😌
More interesting than listening to Tory Mans Valorant waffle thats for sure.
Now that you watched all regions ascension what are some underrated players that other people don't appreciate
Honestly, all of TSM outside of Timo and Vora.
In Pacific, Shiro, Xan, Rb, yatsuka, Leviathan, XuNa
Rank how well u think the ascension teams will do in their respective leagues
And then rank how good u think they actually are not taking into account who they play
Hmm, including G2, XLG?
G2 probably still top 3, Envy unfortunately likely to be bottom half since they lose two players who really make their style work.
I think BBL PCIFIC is probably like 8th-10th, ULF could make top 6.
Nongshim will be in the top 8 but I think SLT will probably struggle vs better competition.
DRG? I guess similar to last year. xlg i think falls off a bit.
No i meant like rank the 6 ascension teams that just ascended
First for how well u think they will do next year
For example:
Drg
Envy
Slt
Ns
Bcf
Ulf
And then how good u think they actually are right now
For example:
Envy
Bcf
Ulf
Slt
Bs
Drg
Btw no thats not my lists i just put them in random order💔
Oh I see.
Next year:
ULF
NSR
DRG
Envy
BCF
SLT
If the 6 played right now:
NSR
ULF
Envy
DRG
SLT
BCF
I think they may be a bit like NSR from this year. In tier 2 they get away with WAY too much crazy stuff. They will need to adapt a bit and find a real style to build around instead of just brawling. I would have liked to see them play vs NSR in Ascension to see if their aim holds up against another fearless team of 5 shooters.
- whats ur top 3 team name and why octagonal disposition gaming is #1
- when will TMV oil up
No trials as of yet as far as I know. I'm a bit out of the loop and not in KR at the moment.
Any Acend players from 2023-2024 who you feel like deserve chances in tier 1 that aren't being talked about? I remember ALIVE reportedly getting trials before the 2024 season but he didn't appear on any teams and kinda just disappeared
Alive probably would have done well in the Yoru meta but I think he retired. I'd say it's a big shame we haven't seen Chiwa on stage yet. I'd also love to see Pyroll get a real chance instead of being thrown into a dead team like on KC.
Thoughts on 100T’s offseason strat of poaching the TSM players + coach. Is it a viable strategy, or would you have explored other regions and more options in your opinion?
Also all of this is hypothetical and you responding wouldn’t confirm anything :)
Well, I think being able to grab a tier-1 coach + and IGL with a season of working together + a tier-1 ready duelist is about as good of a haul as you can. I definitely think it's correct to try and get good talent from your region as much as possible. Imports should mostly be saved for when you absolutely cannot find a better alternative in your own region.
HYPOTHETICALLY
would u ever hire tmv as part of the coaching staff
i feel like he could help u with comp making
Honestly, idk. I think we have quite a bit of overlap so it might be better to focus on some other skills. But I'm sure we could work together well.
Xavi is a great prospect. Unfortunately for him, I think a lot of the Pacific teams have their IGLs locked in by this point (and over half of the team comm in languages other than English). Also, the PH passport can be pretty problematic for getting visas (although he does appear to have dual citizenship).
Thoughts on SEN Kaplan always abusing the Cubert plushies during their games? Do you think cubert deserves justice or would you do the same
would you like to join our VLR minecraft server that we're putting together if you have any free time?
Here is the discord link you are free to join if you want to
Hard question to answer so don't have to, but with how esports jobs are with short-ish term contracts and a decent chance of not having a job next year, how do you support yourself financially? And potentially extending this to other coaches/players who aren't 18-22 years old
Well, I've been lucky/dumb enough to bounce from position to position while finding jobs and also creating content. I did YouTube full time for a bit, casted, worked for startups, sponsorships, worked as head of media for acend while volunteering as a coach and eventually got a shot to do it full time.
Now that I'm out of work, I'll probably test the waters with content while looking for an opportunity with a new team and if nothing presents itself then I'll probably go find another career. I think a decent chunk of coaches/players get paid well enough to float for 6-8 months while looking for a new team. I dont have the same luxury so I'll be looking for whatever I can get for now.
Esports/gaming/streaming is a grind for 99% of people. But then again all jobs are grinds unless you're incredibly incredibly lucky
Thoughts on filipino valorant? There's like a ton of talent their from ranked to t2/t3 and can't seem to get over my head as to how teams aren't able to pick them up even though they were showing some decent results.
PH passport is pretty weak and the government really makes it difficult for young people to leave the country. Definitely lots of talent there but like many of the SEA regions probably needs to invest more in the mentoring pipeline for the players. More experience coaches, developing IGLs. Right now you have a lot of fraggers and not a lot of great structure around them.
I respect their system a lot and Vision Strikers is still my favorite team of all time.
What is your view on the style differences between European/American and Asian teams?
Do you think the current decline of Chinese teams is related to Chinese coaches?
Each region is unique. Asian teams are definitely the most aggressive. CN being by far the most chaotic. EMEA is the most structured and Americas tends to be second in this regard. I don't know too much about the internals of the CN scene but I know from other esports how seriously they take success in competition so I won't be surprised if they take over the game in a few years. That being said, right now there seems to be a lot more reliance on individual talent and "hero plays" than actual teamwork and solid theory.
Discord