Joblife’s
VCT EMEA journey officially came to an end this Sunday. Despite a commendable run through the Play-Ins, during which the French team notably eliminated
PCIFIC Esports and
Fnatic, JL ultimately fell in the decisive qualifying match against
Fire Flux Esports. Joblife once again failed to overcome the Turkish side, formerly known as
REBORN, making this their fourth defeat against them this season.
Following the conclusion of their run, which also marks the end of their season, Emil “runneR” Trajkovski spoke to Sheep Esports to look back on the team’s Play-Ins campaign and assess their season as a whole.
What is your first feeling after the game?
Emil “runneR” Trajkovski: “Probably a bit disappointed, but also kind of proud as well. No matter that we lost, I'm still proud of everyone and of myself. I usually don't say this, but I'm proud of myself, of how I did this whole season.
You lost three times against Fire Flux (previously REBORN) before this season. So what did you expect about them today?
runneR: Honestly, we expected to beat them. We had Pa1ze (Mohammad Khatib), and not Chiwa (Egor Stepaniuk) anymore. So it's still like one new different player. But overall, I felt confident; we felt confident to beat them. We knew it was probably going to be a bit harder than our last matches, but still we were ready.
As you said, Pa1ze joined before the beginning of the play-ins, and he impressed a lot of people by his performances. How was it to play with him?
runneR: He kind of got into our kind of structure and everything pretty well, but there was still sometimes something missing. But overall I think he did great. I think Pa1ze is an insane player; he has a bright future ahead of him, so I think he did good for the time we had with him.
The biggest achievement of Joblife during the play-ins has been to eliminate Fnatic. How did you feel after these series? What did it represent for you?
runneR: I was proud because I don't think I've ever beaten Fnatic in my career, but at the same time I was a bit not that hyped around it because they were having a rough time. Like, everyone saw that they were having some problems, either with the meta roles or whatever, and it was like they weren't in their strongest form and shape. So that's why I was kind of not that hyped. But still, it's an amazing achievement to beat Fnatic, of course, and I felt great.
What do you think about your team's run in the competition overall?
runneR: I think we definitely could have done better, but we did good. The first game against NAVI was kind of a hard game as well, but against Eternal Fire, we should have done better, which is the only thing I'm kind of disappointed in because we should have won this game. That day we got two players sick. Obviously even if we’re sick, we can still play, but it was hard because our IGL was sick and then things kind of spiraled out of control, and then they got momentum, they got confidence, and we lost. But this was the only thing that I'm disappointed in.
Tier 2 teams end up with an 83% win rate against VCT teams during those play-ins, which is way more than in any other region. How to explain that?
runneR: I think the numbers explain themselves basically. Technically there is tier 2 and tier 1, you can still say, but there are still a lot of tier 2 teams that I think would be able to beat tier 1 teams. The competition is not that far up; it's not that different between tier 1 and tier 2. The only thing I would say is different between the two is maybe just some micro stuff, maybe just a bit of structure, and that's it. But especially in Europe, I think tier 2 is the strongest by far, and they can dominate any region.
It's interesting because in EMEA, VCL teams did way better than in the Pacific league or in the Americas right now. Do you feel like it's coming from the fact that tier 2 in EMEA is much stronger than in other regions or that the VCT teams from EMEA are weaker than the other VCT leagues?
runneR: I would say it comes from both. I feel like right now a lot of the tier 1 teams are not that good. But at the same time, EMEA has way higher talent ceiling than the other regions. There are so many players from so many countries just grinding non-stop playing the game, trying to make a name for themselves, show themselves and this is what I feel like why always EMEA kind of prospers above the other region. because everyone just plays like all day and night in EMEA and I think it shows now.
Your season with Joblife ends here. How would you summarize this year with them?
runneR: During the whole year there were a lot of ups and downs. We were so many times so close to basically having our season be over with almost not even making the playoffs second split in France and then almost losing in Stage 3. Like we were down really bad like 3-10 or something on one map and if we lost it we would be out. But I am proud. I am proud of myself. I'm proud of everyone in Joblife, of the whole team, the management, the coaches. I'm proud of everyone because no matter what we went through we still did it together and we tried our best and yeah, I'm happy with what we did.
How do you imagine your future on VALORANT next season?
runneR: Of course my dream goal is still the same. I just want to play and compete to go on the big stage in front of many fans and eventually win a trophy, of course. I think this season with Joblife should help. I think all of us did great. We should, maybe, have some better offers. But overall, still, I love Joblife to death. They helped me so much, with the fans, the community, everyone, the CEOs, they all helped me so much with my career. And I think it's gonna be even brighter from now on.”
