After a clear victory over Xipto Esports GC in their first match at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship Seoul, the Karmine Corp GC players gave a press conference. Şura "Jiex" Yıldırım reflected on the incredible energy from the fans, which helped her overcome her nerves on her first big stage. Azra "alkyia" Erin spoke of her revenge after a 2023 edition marred by COVID-19, while Safia "safiaa" Leghzal and Anastasia "anesilia" Ivanova savoured their international debut to the chants of the Karmine Army.

Questions for Şura "Jiex" Yıldırım:

You seemed to be the most engaged with the crowd after the victory, walking up to them and yelling back. How was it having that many people here supporting you, and did you expect that kind of atmosphere when you came into the arena today?

Jiex: "I actually was expecting it, because I know they’re always going to support us. Whatever happens, they’ll be there. It was my first time having an experience like this. I’ve never been on a stage like that before, so I was a bit stressed at first, thinking I’d be shaky or something. But when I saw them, and when I saw my friends around me in the crowd, the stress just disappeared. Immediately, I just ran towards them, shouting and asking, “What’s the chant? What’s the colour?” I was screaming and I was happy. It felt really good."

We saw you very often on Ascent, but it looked like you were struggling at the start on the attacking side. What happened there, and did you feel different on that map?

Jiex: "I had a technical issue with my headset. They told me we couldn’t take a tech pause for it, because we’re not used to playing with earrings and all that stuff on stage, and I had some problems at the beginning. At first, it was really stressful, having this loud sound only in my right ear and nothing on the left. It wasn’t about confidence; it was just uncomfortable to play like that. But then I told myself to face it, to raise my voice and focus, and after that I managed to come back into the game."

Questions for Anastasia "Glance" Anisimova:

You were killing it in the server today and then you knocked over your drink and we had another tech pause. Were you just too hyped in that moment? What exactly happened, and how did the rest of the team react?

Glance: "I’ve already had this accident at a previous Game Changers Champions, unfortunately. In Brazil, I spilled my water as well. I just have this stupid habit of putting my bottle on my right side, really close to my mousepad, and it’s kind of crazy how many times I’ve spilled it. I did it again today and at first I got a bit nervous, because the whole mousepad was soaked and there was very little space left to play. Everyone was asking if I wanted a different mousepad, but I’ve never changed it before and I always like to keep the one I use, so I said, “No, it’s fine.” Then I just tried not to over-flick anything. I think in the very next round I killed three people, completely randomly in my opinion. It just happens sometimes, and I’ll try not to do it again. The water can’t stop me.

Do you and your team often scrim against "male" esports teams? If yes, which kind of teams have you scrimmed against before?

Glance: We mostly scrim against male teams, I would say around ninety percent of our practice. Usually it’s tier-two teams, sometimes tier-three. Tier-one teams are rarely available because they’re usually overbooked, so it’s hard to get proper practice against them. We have a few teams we really like to play against, where we can repeat the same matchups or the same maps day after day, or just run best-of-threes regularly. I think that kind of practice is a very good way to improve before a Game Changers competition."

Questions for Azra "alkyia" Erin:

Last year at GCC you were sick with COVID-19 and couldn’t perform at your best. Now you’re back, and we saw you playing at a very high level today. Does this feel like revenge for you?

Alkyia: "I really did want to take revenge, yes. Last year I couldn’t eat for around six days. I couldn’t drink properly, I couldn’t breathe well, I couldn’t talk. I was literally so sick, and I couldn’t go on stage either. So I really wanted to win this first match and keep winning all the way to the end. I feel relieved, in a way. I tried very hard not to get sick this time. I took medicine every day, wore a mask, did everything I could, and here I am.

You had an amazing couple of maps today. What do you attribute your strong performance to?

Alkyia: I don’t know exactly. I just feel really hungry to play on stage and to get that revenge we’ve been talking about. I really wanted to show myself, to show how I play when I’m on stage and feeling good. And it’s thanks to anesilia, to Jiex, and to my whole team. It was not only me. They were supporting me and putting me in positions to shine, flashing people for me, revealing people for me, so that I could get those four-kill rounds and so on. It wasn’t just my performance; it was the team enabling me."

Question for Safia "safiaa" Leghzal

How does it feel to make your international debut with such a clean victory and so much support behind you?

safiaa: "To be honest, I just feel excited. I was really excited to play this first match. We actually played insanely well, and I wasn’t expecting the KC fans to do that much for us in the arena. It was insane. It felt like an earthquake with how loud they were, and it made the whole experience even better."

Question for Anastasia "anesilia" Ivanova

You were playing in Contenders in late 2024, and now you’re playing against the best Game Changers players in the world. How do you feel about that? Are you stressed at all, facing this level of competition?

anesilia: "I’m not really stressed, but it’s a good kind of stress, at least that’s what our performance coach, who’s sitting in the crowd, would say. I’m excited to play and excited to show myself and our team, and to show what we’ve been working on this year and in the last two weeks preparing for Champions. So I would say I’m mostly just excited to compete, and today was amazing, a wonderful experience."