After a rough start to the split for
G2 Esports, they’ve been racking up wins in this
Stage 1 of the
VALORANT Champions Tour Americas. Following their 2-0 victory over Cloud9, Andrej
"BABYBAY" Francisty sat down for an interview with
Sheep Esports right after the win. From his thoughts on the match to adapting to his new role as a Sentinel, BABYBAY shares how he manages his career after so many years of competition and finds the right balance between gaming and his personal life.
First of all, how are you feeling after this game against Cloud9?
Andrej "BABYBAY" Francisty: “Dude, I’m feeling amazing, bro. It was a crazy map two for me. Personally, I was playing really great individually, but it was very hard. I mean, they are good on Split, even with the new guys that they had. I think it took a whole team effort for us to close that map out because even though I was playing very well mechanically, they were doing really well, honestly. They had a really good defense.
Since the start of the split, we’ve seen you taking on the role of full-time Sentinel. Has that changed anything for you, especially in the way you communicate or play?
BABYBAY: Yeah, since we started the split, I’ve been playing Vyse a lot, pretty much the Sentinel role. It changed a little bit. I definitely needed to understand what I should be communicating, because it’s very different from when I’m a Duelist or when I’m on Chamber. When you’re on Duelist or Chamber, you’re kind of like, “Oh, I want to do this, and I’m doing this.”
But on Sentinel, it’s more like I have to be listening, understand what’s going on, process more information, and relay the right stuff to the team. Like, “Hey, I heard this guy here,” or “He used this utility here,” or “Take this fight.” With Vyse, I have to sync up, like, “Yo, let’s flash peek, three, two, one,” you know?
So it’s a lot different, but once I get used to what I need to do on any role, on any team, I can master it. I’ve done this grind so many times before, and I truly feel like if I get a week or two on any agent, I can become a very strong player on it. It doesn’t matter what it is.
We’ve seen that previously as well. Speaking of that, what was the hardest thing you had to work on when you moved into this role?
BABYBAY: The hardest thing I needed to work on was getting to my setups on time. I think that was the main thing. I already played Viper, so I had already learned how to lurk during my whole time on G2. I also watched tons of VODs when I was casting and stuff like that, so I kind of understood how to play the lurk role. But I think the biggest thing was getting these lineups down, getting the setups down, being confident in my setups and how to play them, when to pop the thorns and stuff like that.
There’s a lot of nuance that goes into it, and a lot of teams are very good at baiting out Sentinel utility. So I think that’s a whole skill gap you have to learn as a Sentinel player: understanding whether it is a real hit or not, whether I should just disrupt peek. There’s just so much that goes into it. It’s like a mini-game, honestly. It’s a mini-game.
You started the split with G2 with two losses, but then dominated the rest of the matches. What happened after those two losses that allowed G2 to come back stronger?
BABYBAY: Yeah, I think we played two of the strongest teams in our group very early on. We were also experimenting, so I think it’s just that. I don’t mean this as BM toward the teams that we played, but imagine if we had played LOUD when they had their coach earlier on, or maybe even Envy earlier on. I think if we had those games beforehand, we would have been way more confident playing the comp that we did, the experimental comp with Harbor and Astra, stuff like that.
I just think that when you play against two of the strongest teams, and they were close games, honestly. I think that the MIBR game, the second map was close, the first map not really, but Leviatan was extremely close. That became between whatever. I think when you’re down 0-2 like that, sometimes you just have to hit the panic button and go back to some comfort zone. So we went back to comfortable roles, like leaf (Nathan Orf) on Viper and valyn (Jacob Batio) on Astra. They are just so good on those agents that it doesn’t matter when you play them; they’re always going to perform.
G2 Esports has qualified for the Stage 1 playoffs. Credit: Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
The meta has changed a bit recently. We saw the Yoru nerf, and now the Neon changes are coming in. What does an ideal meta look like to you?
BABYBAY: The ideal meta for me was 2025 Champions. That was the best meta VALORANT has ever had. You could play anything. In 2025 Champs, you could play double Initiator, double Duelist, single Initiator, double Controller, or double Sentinel. That was the most flexible meta, and it just felt like there were so many viable things. Just play what your team is good at. I think that was probably the best meta VALORANT has ever had, honestly.
It was so balanced. Most teams were leaning toward double Duelist, but who won the tournament? A double Initiator team, NRG won the whole thing, right? And then the teams that played double Sentinel, some of them did really well, some of them didn’t make it to Champs, but I think they would have done well too, because there were just so many different ways you could play the 2025 Champs game. It was perfect, bro, honestly. I don’t know. Who knows why changes were made, but it is what it is.
Are you happy with the Neon change?
BABYBAY: Oh, I’m happy with the Neon change. Trust me. I think the game is in a better spot for sure with the Neon change, because that character is just so dumb. Honestly, if I’m completely honest, I think Neon was okay. It was actually the shotguns more than anything, now that I think about it.
Neon with a rifle, okay, fine. She can still get a sliding one-tap, but I feel like that’s the difference between a good Neon and a mid Neon. Everyone is good, but the really good Neons know how to do that consistently with a rifle. And I think that’s what the character’s intent is. The shotguns just ruin it. The Judge meta is kind of dumb, bro. Go watch our game against Nongshim and watch the way Valyn died on our defense when the score was close, like 11-10, and we had the lead.
He gets one-pumped from screens on Split, A site, to the elbow. Like, brother, that is just ridiculous. He did more than 150 HP. He did 170 damage doing that. That was just ridiculous. But whatever, bro. Well played, they won that tournament. At least they did it the whole way through, which is fire. So I’m happy for them.
We often talk about titles and world champions, but not enough about all the effort and sacrifice it takes to get there. For you, are you able to balance your personal and professional life, or does the VCT take too much of your time?
BABYBAY: Yeah, I know. Being a pro player definitely absorbs all your time. If you’re actually trying to win, if you’re actually trying to be a champion and you’re really serious about it, you don’t really have much free time. I haven’t even been able to go out and enjoy drinks with friends or anything. I’m done with practice, I get home, and I watch the VODs. Maybe I’ll stream now and then. I just got on a stream schedule, which is good.
But yeah, you have to be really serious about this if you actually want to be a champion. I’m not trying to just join the league and do whatever. I know I could do that and coast by, but when you’re really trying to win, when you really want it that badly, you have to make these sacrifices. I think that goes for anything you really want to achieve in life, and even in real sports.
Do you think LeBron James is going out partying? I don’t think so. Do you think that if he weren’t taking care of his body, he’d still be able to compete at the age he is? No. So I’m kind of looking at it like I have to be really serious about this, get the right sleep, not go out, even though, God, I miss going out so much, bro. I want to go out and dance and do all these things I used to do, but I have to lock in, bro. I have to lock in.
Speaking of those sacrifices, as a veteran of this competition, and since you also played before VALORANT and had a career before, how do you make sure you never burn out with all that work?
BABYBAY: I think it’s a lot of what I was talking about, just taking care of your body and your mind. That’s the hard part, taking care of your mind, because when you’re playing all day, and you feel like you’re trapped inside, that’s kind of tough. But I think the cool thing about us is that we have a sports psychologist.
His name is Robert (Robert Yip), and he’s just phenomenal. He makes us go to the team gym, he makes sure that we’re sleep-maxing, and he makes sure that we’re eating as well as we can. Obviously, people like certain things and fast food at times, but we try to go the healthier route more often than not. I think doing team activities too helps with that burnout, so it doesn’t happen.
We’ve been really focused on that because these guys have been competing, and they even told me that by the end of the year, when it comes down to Champs, because they’ve made every event over the last couple of years, they just feel dead by the time Champs comes around. So it’s been a big focus, like, let’s make sure we don’t burn out, let’s stay on top of this stuff, let’s be healthy, let’s do the right things, have a good process. We’re all taking it very seriously.”
