A lack of international experience does not necessarily translate into a lack of results.
Leviatán demonstrated that once again by securing a top-four finish at
VALORANT Masters London following a dominant victory over
Xi Lai Gaming. In a showdown against
Team Vitality this Friday, the two teams that emerged from the play-ins will battle for a place in the tournament’s top three.
Ahead of that match, Leviatán player Bruno “Neon” Rodríguez spoke with Sheep Esports about his team’s journey so far and the challenges that lie ahead, as they continue their pursuit of lifting the trophy on Sunday.
What’s your first feeling after this game?
Bruno "Neon" Rodríguez: “I'm really happy to be in such a situation that right now we are top 4, and it's like a dream that is becoming true, so I'm really happy after such a nice match that we had today against a great team.
How good does it feel for you? Did you expect to make it there before the start of the competition?
Neon: Well, we tend to focus on the present, and we didn’t think that much about it. If we have to be the champions, we're going to be the champions. If we have to be top 6, we're going to be top 6. We just need to keep the routine and all the work that we do ongoing so as to guarantee that we can keep improving day by day.
XLG surprised a lot of fans by defeating G2 Esports a few days ago. What did you expect from them today?
Neon: There were some expectations that they could win, and indeed, they demonstrated why they are in such a position here in Masters. They are a strong team, and without underestimating G2, they were just really good, and therefore, I believe that we should keep the way that we think, where every team that is here in the Masters is a strong team. With that mentality, I think we have to keep going on in order to be able to be in the position that we are now.
Besides Leviatán, VCT America's teams struggled a bit during the Masters. Why do you think those teams underperformed this time?
Neon: I don't think I'm in a position to be able to speak on behalf of them. You would rather have to talk with them. But if I had to say something about it, we are here in an international competition with only top teams, so therefore any team is a good team. And so whoever is a good team has chances to win; we have to think like this.
Your team was defeated a few days ago by Paper Rex during the upper bracket. What went wrong in this game according to you? Do you feel like Paper Rex is untouchable for now, or is there something that you should have done better?
Neon: I felt like we were a bit anxious when we played against Paper Rex both in-game and in the communications. We already knew that they were the best team in the tournament. I think we learned from our mistakes now, and if we get the opportunity to play against them again, we know that we will be able to do the right things because we already lost once.
Your team is made of young players playing their first experience at the international. However, you all seem to be really comfortable on stage, so how are you dealing with the pressure and what is your mindset before every game?
Neon: Obviously, all players feel a little bit stressed, a little bit nervous. But embracing and playing with that nervousness and also playing with the adrenaline rush is something that motivate us, and we are also living a dream here. It's a dream that all the players of our team have wanted for a long time. So to stay happy, what we're doing is not thinking about what will happen in the future and focusing on the present. So I think one key is just to arrive and have fun. We have to keep putting in practice everything that we have, like the training and everything that we put in on a daily routine basis. We try to prepare as much as we can to bring, regardless of who the opponent is.
How do you feel about the rest of the tournament? What are the chances of your team winning the Masters? And when do you think you need to improve to succeed?
Neon: If I have to say that we have a key mental point, it is that we have to go step by step, always trying to keep on with the routines that we have inside and outside of the server. We have to focus like this in order to achieve what we've been achieving until here. If we do that, we will be very confident against whoever our opponent will be. And no matter who we are facing, I hope we will reach the grand final.”
