Just after their 2-0 loss to KRÜ Esports in Week 2 of the
VALORANT Champions Tour Americas Stage 1, NRG coach Malkolm
"bonkar" Rench sat down with
Sheep Esports for a post-match interview in which he discussed the team’s current struggles, how he’s handling a dip in form following their championship win, and more topics.
How are you feeling after the boys’ performance today? And in your opinion, what was missing to win this match today?
Malkolm "bonkar" Rench: “I’m feeling okay. We know what the problems are. The main thing is just that we’re not getting into a groove as a team right now. Our links between players are yellow, I’d say, and also, there’s like no individualism on the server right now, so that’s a problem.
Lately, NRG have been going through a really difficult period. We could see in the videos on YouTube that there was a lot of frustration on your face and also on Ethan "Ethan" Arnold’s face. How do you manage both the pressure of the results and the mental side of your players?
bonkar: Even if Ethan and I do like this, we show expression a lot with our bodies; we never let it show to the team. So it sounds the same all the time. We try to rally them up as much as we can together. For me, the mental aspect of the players is more identifying: Do they need energy, do they need to calm down, do they need a kick in the ass… What do they need? And I provide that to them.
Is it even harder to take this kind of loss when you’re coming off a champion title and you know what this team is capable of at its peak?
bonkar: No, not really. It’s frustrating that we can’t get going right now. We’re trying to figure out what it is, but it’s super individual because there are five different players and they need to go. They all individually need different things to get going. Again, it’s very individual right now; the problems that we’re having on the server because of all of the individual issues we have just spiral into team issues and things.
Obviously KRÜ is a super good team. I think we looked solid macro-wise, both on Lotus and Split a little bit on attack. We were a little bit too predictable, which I understood, but we just—I mean, mada (Adam Pampuch) couldn’t find an entry on attack; we just couldn’t get anything going, and it’s very hard when those things happen when you just don’t find any kills. There’s no creativity.
With all the talent this roster has, how did you handle the meta shift, with Yoru gradually being replaced by Phoenix by most teams? And what did that change concretely in the way you approached the game?
bonkar: For us it didn’t change too much, to be honest. If anything, we’re just playing the Neon more now because Dambi (Lee Hyuk-kyu) kinda showed the way how you can abuse the Neon and specifically the Judge. It’s literally broken right now in the game, and it changes everything. Other than that, it’s kinda like still the same for us. We only played three maps total in stage one now. Still the same comfort: we have some double duelist maps and some default comp maps, we have different things.
NRG during the KickOff 2026 lower final. Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
You also talked about Neon. I see a lot on social media and also a lot of pros and community members talking about the new agent, who, combined with Neon, can be kind of broken. What do you think about this new character coming into this new meta?
bonkar: It’s like no use case for a Miks to be honest. Short pairs are okay on paper with Neon, but in reality the sprint boost is almost like nothing, the stim. I just don’t see how you can use him. Maybe like a niche pick on like Bind you could use him because you have cross-map lineups with heals or something like that but other than that... I don’t think so. The game is way too fast-paced now. You need characters that are very self-sufficient and can stand their ground.
I would like to get your thoughts about Georgio "keiko" Sanassy. Now that you’ve had more time to get to know him and work with him, concretely, what does Keiko bring to the team that the public doesn’t necessarily see?
bonkar: He’s a very funny guy, honestly. He’s just naturally very funny, to be honest; I love him. Obviously, a lot of firepower, but everyone can see that. But he’s a very funny guy, and he helps bring the team together in a very natural way, which is by being himself.
After your win at Champions Paris, you mentioned your family was in Europe and that you spent time with them. What did that period bring you, and how important was it before the new season?
bonkar: During the off-season, home with the family is just… they support me so much. Just being comfortable at all times, helping me with everything. Same as my girlfriend does in LA. When I’m in Sweden during the off-season, honestly, I’m preparing as much as I can mentally and physically and just trying to get in shape because I know that during the season, there’s going to be periods where I need that extra depot of energy to keep pushing through. I needed it in Santiago, needed it in Champs, EWC, basically all of the land. So off-season coming home, just really preparing as much as I can physically and mentally.
You’ve built a lot of experience over the years, first as a player, and now as a coach. When you made this transition, did you ever think it would take you this far? And today, when you look back, what are you the most proud of?
bonkar: I mean 2025 Champs of course, and then 2019 Champs also on Paladins was really big. I will say I’m proud of also helping a lot of players reach their potential, whether that is in Europe or in America. Doesn’t matter if it’s been me as a player IGLing or me coaching. I think I’ve been fortunate enough to work with individuals who are so talented, and their potential has been incredible. What brings me a lot of joy throughout my career is helping them reach their potential, to be honest.
It’s a big, big thing for me, to be honest. I love that shit. It makes me so happy to see all the players I’ve been working with when they succeed. And then the coaching stuff; definitely the goal was always to win champs in these things and just keep going. Right now, we’re slumping as a team. It happens, but I just need to figure out the way out to get back, you know. I’ve been here before; I’ve done it before. I’m going to do it again. Just need to find the correct path.
So to finish the interview, what would the bonkar who had just started playing VALORANT French Cups in 2020 say if he saw you today?
bonkar: Damn, you changed. That’s what he would say, probably. You grew up, to be honest. When I started playing VALORANT, I was still a kid. Is this six years ago now? That’s crazy. Six years ago, I was 24. I was still a kid when I was 24, I’m not gonna lie. I’m still very childish and just like to have fun but have matured a lot since then. I understand it now.”
