The remainder of the
VALORANT Champions in Shanghai will continue without a single Chinese team. Following the elimination of their three regional counterparts,
JD Gaming were the last Chinese side to fall in the Group Stage on Friday. The VCT China Stage 2 finalists were defeated by T1, despite a strong response on Abyss in the second map.
With this defeat, JDG exit the competition after just two matches and a single map win in their first appearance at the tournament. Following the conclusion of his first international event, Yeung "jkuro" Ho Chung spoke to Sheep Esports about the team's run and the end of their campaign.
What is your first feeling after the game?
Yeung "jkuro" Ho Chung: “I feel very pitiful for not getting this whole win of the best-of-three.
What do you think went wrong in today's series?
jkuro: I would say that over the whole series, the main issue would be the map pool. We don't have sufficient map to counter and as for the map one (Lotus), I would say that we just lost our chance in the end of the game and I think that's the main problem.
You haven’t played on Abyss in a while but decided to pick it and had a good performance on it, were you confident going into this map?
jkuro: We have watched the opponent's map pool and we thought that this map was one of their weakness. Also, we played very well on this map during the scrims so that’s why we chose it as our own.
With this game over, all the Chinese teams are the first ones to be eliminated from Champions. How does it feel as a player?
jkuro: For me and my teammates, I feel very sorry because we played in front of our home crowd. The result was not satisfying so I just really want to say sorry to all the fans supporting.
What do you think right now should be improved in general for VCT China to perform again on the international stage?
jkuro: I feel like there are two problems. First, I think there’s a mentality problem. As a team, sometimes we overestimate our opponents. We just feel that they are strong and we don't put 100% of our attention into the game. We are afraid of this and that. I think it's a mentality problem. Secondly, I think it's our chances or abilities to end the game. Sometimes for some clutch or mid-time decisions, we also make some mistakes. I think that would be the biggest issue right now for China.
A lot of teams already talked about the mental problem. How do you explain it? Where does it come from from your perspective?
jkuro: Personally, it's because it's my first time participating in Champions. In the past few years, I've been watching other teams play. We've never played against each other before. So I think it's pretty impressive to see them play on the stream. When we actually play against each other, I feel pretty scared at first. But later on, I feel like I'm getting used to it and I can handle it.
On a personal side, as you said it was your first international tournament. What did you learn from this experience and what did you think about it overall?
jkuro: When we don't have a clear difference in score, and when the opponent's score is catching up to us, we might get nervous. So I learned not to care about the score and just play normally. I also learned how to stabilize myself and adjust my mindset during those high-pressure games.
Which team made you the strongest impression in the tournament so far?
jkuro: I would say NRG because sometimes we also scrim with other teams from other regions. NRG is pretty good and strong.”
