Multi-esports expertise Patiphan ‘Patiphan’ Chaiwong has returned to Valorant after a 12 months within the Overwatch League. In an interview with Dexerto, the Thai participant talked about why he returned to Riot Video games’ title and what it feels wish to reunite together with his outdated teammates.
The final time Valorant followers noticed Patiphan compete was on the 2021 world championship quarterfinals, in a 2-1 loss to Gambit Esports in Berlin, Germany. The Thai staff, led by their assured Duelist participant, had been an underdog on the event.
The squad had debuted on the world stage at VCT Stage 2 Masters Reykjavík in 2021, drawing admiring glances with their fast-paced fashion of play. After lacking the subsequent worldwide occasion – Patiphan couldn’t participate within the Challengers qualifying event due to an unhealed wrist injury – the staff returned to the worldwide stage at Valorant Champions 2021, the place they secured a playoff spot by beating Envy (now OpTic Gaming) within the group’s decider match, off the again of Patiphan’s Duelist play.
Whereas perhaps not spectacular by 2022 requirements (Paper Rex and ZETA DIVISION have raised the bar for South East Asian groups), Patiphan and his X10 teammates shocked the world with their outcomes and took Gambit, the earlier Masters winners, to 3 maps within the playoffs.
Patiphan was one of many top-rated statistical gamers on the planet earlier than his debut internationally.
Six days after his elimination from Valorant’s world championship, nevertheless, the Thai competitor retired from the Riot Games title and returned to the esport the place he had began his profession when he was simply 15 years outdated, Overwatch.
Seven months later, Patiphan could be lifting the Overwatch League Midseason Insanity trophy in Honolulu, Hawaii because the DPS participant for the Los Angeles Gladiators in a 4-2 victory over the San Francisco Shock. However after the second stage of the OWL season, the generational expertise retired from Overwatch and esports.
It wasn’t till he began speaking to his outdated X10 Esports teammate Thanamethk ‘Crws’ Mahatthananuyut that Patiphan began serious about giving Valorant one other shot. The Thai participant would return to Valorant within the VCT partnered league with Talon Esports.
“We mentioned we needed to run it again. This time I might be enjoying competitively for my ex-teammates,” Patiphan mentioned in an interview with Dexerto.
He defined that he needed to come back again and play with the individuals he used to compete with as a result of he is aware of their work ethic and the way they consider the staff atmosphere.
Patiphan thinks Talon can attain the identical heights as PRX and ZETA
Patiphan missed out on the complete VCT calendar in 2022 whereas enjoying in OWL.
When requested if he stored up with Valorant whereas he was competing in Overwatch and his ideas on how the sport is performed now, the Thai skilled participant didn’t mince phrases in regards to the Duelist function.
“Duelists go kill brr brr,” Patiphan mentioned.
On a severe notice, the 19-year-old participant is returning to Valorant with a brand new aggressive system and new expectations. Now not are Southeast Asian groups segmented into sub-regions that meet solely when qualifying tournaments for worldwide occasions come round.
Japanese, Filipino, South Korean and Thai squads will conflict each week as soon as the Pacific VCT league begins in Seoul, and the bar has been raised for Asia as a complete.
“My objective is to associate with the staff to succeed in a better degree in our profession. PRX and ZETA each did extremely effectively on a world degree, I count on us to have the ability to be as aggressive as them,” Patiphan mentioned.
With out Patiphan, his former teammates joined XERXIA Esports and made each worldwide occasion in 2022, however they crashed out of all three tournaments within the group stage.
Apply between OWL and Valorant
Patiphan’s final skilled Valorant match was a 2-1 loss to Gambit Esports.
Requested about how completely different apply and preparation are between Overwatch and Valorant, Patiphan mentioned that in Blizzard’s title, gamers must have a excessive degree of understanding in regards to the recreation usually and must have extra hours in scrims to be correctly prepared for matches.
In a recent interview with GGRecon, Jordan ‘Gunba’ Graham — who, very like Patiphan, has switched between the 2 video games — mentioned that Overwatch gamers work tougher than their Valorant counterparts on common. When requested for his ideas on the assertion, Patiphan usually disagreed.
“Overwatch requires gamers to have the ability to assume for themselves and the staff (everybody must be an IGL relying on the scenario), so that you want a extremely good understanding of the sport and by having understanding, it’s a must to scrim extra hours. Evaluate it to Valorant, the place the sport requires extra particular person ability, it’s essential play extra outdoors of scrims (ranked video games, customized recreation lineups, and many others.), so I feel it’s a unique sort of apply,” the Talon participant mentioned.
“You may’t go on and say that this individual works tougher than that individual as a result of it’s a very completely different recreation. Loopy, proper?”
When requested about his wrist damage and his potential to maintain enjoying at a excessive degree, Patiphan declined to remark.
Followers will be capable of see Patiphan and his teammates reunite in a Valorant competitors come February as all 30 partnered groups journey to Brazil to compete within the VCT Kickoff event.
