Fresh off a tough start at the
VALORANT Masters Santiago,
T1 began their run with a 0–2 loss to Team Liquid in their opening match. It wasn't the debut they wanted on the international stage, but the reality check could set the tone for everything that comes next. In our post-match interview,
Sheep Esports sat down with T1’s in-game leader, Kim
“Stax” Gu-taek, who broke down what went wrong and how the team handled the pressure.
We saw on the second map that you come back stronger in Split. What did you and the coach say in the locker room before returning to the game?
stax: I thought it would be more team-based, since that’s the meta right now. At first, we tried a different approach. And except for Pacific, I’ve always felt NA and EU were more macro-oriented in their gameplay, but today Team Liquid showed fast attacks, fast executes, and fast rotations, and we were a bit taken aback by that.
What do you think are T1’s strengths this year on the new roster?
stax: Even though we lost today, we lost because of small mistakes. Overall, I think our biggest strengths are our solid plays. Today, I don't think we lacked, but it wasn't a performance that we expected, and overall, I think we should be able to show a better performance in the next match.
T1 won the first Master last year and is coming in as a defender champion. Do you feel any particular pressure to defend your title?
stax: There's not much pressure just because we won the Masters Bangkok. Even in Masters Bangkok, we lost the first game and then we just won until the end. We just went the full distance. So this time, I think it's going to be the same scenario.
T1 VALORANT before the game against Team Liquid at Masters Santiago. Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
You’ve been in Tier 1 for a while now. What do you think has allowed you to stay at the top for so many years now?
stax: I think it's just my plenty of experience that I have. I think that really was my greatest strengths. In Korea, FPS games are not really popular. They're kind of niche. And I think my experience definitely helped me stay at the top.
How was your arrival in Santiago? And did you have time to adjust and maybe get some training with the short time you have left before the tournament starts?
stax: We didn't. We are perfectly prepared, and we just adapted to the opponent's playstyle. Although the preparation time wasn’t too long after kickoff, we didn’t really need to prepare for this Masters because I think we were already in complete form from kickoff. So it's just a matter of analyzing different teams, meta, different teams like Agent Comms, and that's all there is to it.
Looking back on your experience, what are the essential qualities that a young player needs to have, regardless of their role, to get maybe noticed and have a shot at reaching tier ones?
stax: The only way to get into tier 1 is to play a lot of games, have a lot of experience, and keep grinding. That is the only advice I can give to the prospects, the players who are trying to enter tier 1. And if the effort is there, you'll be able to pay dividends in the future.
What would make Stax’s season a success beyond the international title and regional title?
stax: I think the international titles matter the most, to be honest.”
