It has been a while since I made a mega-thread. I used to be quite active back in the early years of Valorant, and this was probably the last year I got to follow the esports scene thoroughly. As an NRG fan for two years, this conclusion has brought me immense peace. I am writing this post as a closure to my time as a hardcore Valorant watcher.
For those curious, here are a few of my oldest posts:
I don't know what got me into watching Sinatraa, but I mained Sova and Raze because of him. He was, in my opinion, the most gifted pro of that time, the best Sova and Raze. (Also, watching Brawk with the Odin makes me miss him even more).
I started watching VCT from VCT 2021 Stage 1 Masters (regionals at that time). Even if I missed matches, I kept track of scoreboards and followed certain players, mostly 100 Thieves and TL after Nivera joined. As an Indian, I hoped for GE's success, but their management seemed bad. I remember them being a 1v3 away from beating F4Q, who took a map off prime SEN. I gave up on the Indian pro scene after that. Forsaken has always been my favorite APAC player. I loved Vision Strikers (later DRX) as a team because of their teamwork and discipline; in fact, FNC even had a "DRX" callout when comms got chaotic. Meanwhile, I loved watching s0m's streams on and off - from the cove incident to "let's tp my kittens!", I have seen him through it all. 2023 Champions got me fully invested in the pro scene. I was supporting NRG that year because there were rumors about Sinatraa joining, but Demon1 impressed me A LOT. I still think that no one can best his prime form, so I wanted EG to win it all, and they did.
For 2024, there were rumors about Demon1 joining NRG - I felt there was a potential NRG Sinatraa. It seemed like a dream come true having Sinatraa (my playstyle, the original), Demon1 (best aim ITW), s0m (W streamer), FNS (one of my favorite IGLs), and Ethan (100T fragment) in one team! Apparently, Victor and Crashies came as a package, so no Sinatraa. I got the NRG classic though; it was the first time I was thoroughly supporting a team. Unfortunately, Sinatraa didn't show up, and Demon1 dyed his hair dual-tone. s0m and FNS did shift to streaming, but I knew their career wasn't ending without winning against BLG (lol), and it was unlikely the org wouldn't be NRG. Demon1 flopped hard, and the team was at its worst phase. This was the first time I was truly feeling for a team, but I was still holding onto the slimmest chances. To make it worse, Demon1 got benched, but that let FNS come back, and s0m replaced Marved, giving me a strong reason to keep cheering for my team.
For 2025, Crashies and Victor were replaced by mada and verno. To be honest, I never followed them, so I wasn't hyped; I was just a little sad to see Crashies leave. But oh boy, something about the team had changed. I saw a whole new mood and better teamwork while watching "Sen City." I was impressed by two things: NRG's double/triple peeks while aping, and mada's aim resets after flash dodges. I started feeling lively again. The beginning of 2025 was not great for them; Verno getting dropped for Brawk was a surprise. Given how bad FNS was looking compared to his "Sen City" and "Soop FNS" days, I expected him to get dropped. Brawk did not have the energy; his Vandal aim was BAD, his gameplay was not flashy, and it seemed mid overall. I was so certain that he would sandbag NRG for the rest of the year (I was still hoping for Sinatraa to somehow replace him, lol).
I did not watch the EWC qualifiers at all; it didn't seem serious because of the poor stream quality. I just knew some dude Skuba replaced FNS. I barely remembered Skuba from his time at the Knights. I did watch EWC, and Skuba was definitely an upgrade over FNS - but NRG still wasn't in my top 5 Americas. However, they were the only team to beat (13-4) TH, who went on to flawlessly win EWC. Going into Stage 2, I was desperate to watch NRG at least qualify for Champions, and boy, they were playing well now! I was so excited for the playoffs; I was HOOKED. NRG had to make a miracle lower bracket run. Starting from the match against C9, Ethan and Bonkar were COOKING. Ethan was solo-winning them multiple rounds; his calling was immaculate. Bonkar's contribution was not always visible, but such an evident shift in playstyle and confidence was surely a backtrack to his brains.
Even after they qualified for Champions, I was 100% sure they were NOT WINNING CHAMPS. In my opinion, EMEA teams were looking a lot better; only G2 seemed to have a fair shot at winning. However, my opinion was changed after NRG vs. DRX. Nobody rated DRX at that time, so the NRG win didn't get much appreciation, but I strongly felt that DRX was a better team; NRG just adapted way too well. I was hoping they wouldn't clash in playoffs (like what FNS mentioned). I had a hot pickem, DRX flawless to finals, which I still feel was correct; FNC just made the legendary comeback.
I finally started to believe in NRG. A few important points about their run to Grand Finals:
- Ethan carried them hard, not just by stats, but mainly by impact.
- Brawk found his calling, no flashy plays but really good gamesense.
- The s0m 1v2 lineup against MIBR on Corrode outshadowed how the round went; it was Skuba's 3k that won them that round and ultimately the map.
- No matter the score, NRG's mental was consistent until the series was over.
- The best part was the energy of the team, they were genuinely having fun ever since they started winning in Americas.
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