100 Thieves secured their spot in the
VALORANT Champions Shangai playoffs on this Wednesday September 30, with a 2-0 victory over
FUT Esports. The Americas champions continued their strong run at the tournament without dropping a map, adding another win to their streak.
Following the victory, Timothée “Timotino” Lavigne spoke exclusively to Sheep Esports about the team's experience with the numerous technical pauses at Champions, the differences between the Brazilian and Chinese crowds, his assessment of the regions competing in Shanghai and 100 Thieves' ambitions for the rest of the tournament.
How does it feel to qualify for the Champions playoffs?
Timothée “Timotino” Lavigne: “I’m feeling great. I think we had a pretty eventful series. A lot of tech pauses, weird stuff happening, but it was a very fun game. I’m feeling very confident going into playoffs, and I think we’re going to do great.
What has the experience with the technical pauses at Champions been like?
Timotino: It’s one of these things that you just get used to. Whenever you go to tournaments, things are going to happen. You’re going to have rounds where your monitor doesn’t work, a bunch of things can happen and will happen. So it’s about building mental resilience and just being able to play through it. That’s what we did today. We had a couple of laggy issues and we kind of just had to play.
How much did the technical interruptions affect 100 Thieves’ flow and momentum?
Timotino: I don’t think it had that much of an impact. It was kind of boring sitting through the tech pauses, but there was one round where it obviously impacted it. Outside of that one single round, I don’t think it had that much of an impact.
Which round was affected?
Timotino: I think the second round of Split, they felt they had a technical issue. It’s a bit unlucky on their part, but it is what it is.
How do you compare the different crowds you’ve seen this year to this Chinese crowds?
Timotino: In terms of crowd, I think Brazil tops every single other crowd, in all honestly. They were the loudest and most passionate fan base that I’ve been to. But I really love the way the arena is set up here, with the fans 360 degrees around you. It makes it sound very loud whenever you’re playing and kind of makes the energy feel even greater. I really like the setup and the way it is in this arena.
How do you assess the different regions at Champions so far?
Timotino: Americas right now is just the strongest region by far. Every single team that we send to Champions is able to win the tournament. We’re looking very strong. In terms of
EMEA, I think
Karmine Corp and
Vitality look very strong, so they’re top contenders as well. And I think China, even though they’ve struggled in their opening matches, are going to get some wins in the upcoming days.
What has been the biggest difference between playing domestically and internationally?
Timotino: I think the game is the same. It might even be a bit easier whenever you play these international teams because I do think Americas is by far the strongest region. Whenever you play these teams from other regions, the game does feel a bit easier sometimes.
100T Timotino during the game against FUT. Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Does 100 Thieves genuinely have what it takes to win Champions?
Timotino: 100%. We’re the favorites for a reason. We’ve been super consistent ever since EWC. We won EWC. We won Stage 2. Now we’re going into playoffs without losing a map. It’s very easy to have us as favorites, and I think it’s for a good reason.
When did you start believing 100 Thieves could win Champions?
Timotino: I’ve been thinking that every day for months. It doesn’t really change with our results. The daily results don’t really change it. I always thought that I could win Champions, and now we’re in a very good position to do so. I just think it’s going to happen.
What does 100 Thieves still need to improve for the playoffs?
Timotino: I think today we were a bit hectic in a lot of rounds. I think we’re usually a lot calmer. Going forward into this tournament, we need to make sure that every single game, every single round, we’re as calm as possible and show the best version of ourselves. Like you said, a lot of the good teams are in this tournament, and it’s going to be really hard if we’re hectic like we were today. So just making sure we’re calm and we’re playing our own game.”
