Staff Vitality have an nearly totally new Valorant roster for the 2023 season and are attempting to mesh the types of 2021 world champion Santeri ‘BONECOLD’ Sassi and younger head coach Salah ‘Salah’ Barakat.
When BONECOLD joined Vitality in Might 2022, he was introduced in alongside head coach Tanishq ‘Tanizhq’ Sabharwal, with whom he shared a vision of how you can play Valorant on the highest stage. A unfastened model of play, with BONECOLD specializing in calling within the second and likewise placing in fragging numbers, introduced Vitality a Valorant Regional League title within the French league and a second-place end within the VRL 2022 playoffs.
Article continues after advert
With Vitality becoming a member of Riot Video games’ VCT EMEA league, and Tanizhq leaving in September, the group went with Salah as the Valorant team’s head coach and gave him the reigns to assemble a roster. In the long run, Vitality held on to BONECOLD and Jokūbas ‘ceNder’ Labutis and introduced in Michał ‘MOLSI’ Łącki, Tomas ‘Destrian’ Linikas and Karel ‘Twisten’ Ašenbrener to finish its 2023 roster.
With the new roster and head coach got here totally different visions of how you can play the sport, which was one thing that Salah and BONECOLD needed to hash out. They described it much less as two individuals butting heads on how you can play the sport however extra as a dialog on how you can work collectively, coexist, and have a well-organized recreation plan.
Article continues after advert
“What Salah brings to the desk is much more construction, which type of goes in opposition to how I first noticed the sport,” BONECOLD instructed Dexerto at Crimson Bull Residence Floor media day. “So proper now what I and Salah are doing is mixing up heavy construction into my actually explosive calling.”
However, in line with Salah, that doesn’t imply the workforce has one spherical through which Vitality storms a bomb website and performs off the cuff, after which the subsequent spherical does a 180o flip and runs a set technique.
“We realized we ought to be mixing this stuff,” Salah instructed Dexerto at Crimson Bull Residence Floor. “It ought to be the perfect of each worlds. It shouldn’t simply be, he tries to get his factor someplace, and I attempt to get mine someplace.”
Article continues after advert
Vitality tried out new roster and philosophy at Crimson Bull Residence Floor
Vitality positioned second of their group at Crimson Bull Residence Floor.
To fine-tune their new method, Vitality has participated in two offseason tournaments, G-Loot Valorant Conflict and Crimson Bull Residence Floor. The latter was performed on LAN and was, for some Vitality gamers, their first style of competitors with a crowd.
Vitality made a deep run at Red Bull Home Ground, the place they misplaced to eventual champions 100 Thieves within the semi-finals. In his first time teaching on stage in entrance of an viewers, Salah mentioned that he favored what he noticed and heard from his workforce.
Subscribe to our publication for the most recent updates on Esports, Gaming and extra.
“We really feel like a workforce, we really feel like a household. So at present we have been speaking, individuals have been chipping in saying, ‘Keep in mind this, bear in mind this,’ ‘I like you guys,’ and ‘I’m happy with us’, and we simply really feel like a workforce proper now,” Salah mentioned after Vitality’s match on stage in opposition to Staff Heretics.
Article continues after advert
Whereas Vitality haven’t received any offseason tournaments, the workforce has improved massively for the reason that roster got here collectively, in line with Salah. The pinnacle coach described him and BONECOLD as two hyperlinks in a series.
“We’re one,” he instructed Dexerto.
For BONECOLD, the new-look Vitality is an opportunity for him to stage up his recreation as a participant and to focus extra on calling for his workforce than ever earlier than. He’s relishing the chance to return to the highest after successful Valorant Champions 2021 with Acend.
“One thing that I’ve been closely specializing in is getting actually good at calling,” the Vitality IGL mentioned. “I really feel like the best way I name and lead may be very totally different than it was in earlier groups.” I really feel like on this Vitality I’m much more concerned. I don’t consider myself as a participant first after which as a pacesetter.
Article continues after advert
“I’ve discovered a very nice combination of being closely dedicated to being in a workforce collectively, however on the identical time simply being like a extremely good participant on prime of that. So I really feel that going into the subsequent season of VCT, I’m going to be the strongest IGL in Europe.”
Followers will be capable of see if BONECOLD can fulfill his promise of changing into the perfect IGL in Europe on the VCT LOCK//IN tournament, beginning in February in Brazil.
