Who are Heretics and how did they manage to upset Liquid and G2 on their way to the trophy at First Strike EU? We talked to their German player niesoW after their quarterfinal victory against Liquid.
Team Heretics have made quite the story for themselves at the first Riot-produced tournament for VALORANT. They not only eliminated two favorites in the quarters and semis but went on to win the entire tournament.
Disclaimer: The interview the article was based on was conducted on December 3
One of the key reasons for their success is Dustyn “niesoW” Durnas. Usually employing Sova for his team, he also surprised against Team Liquid with a Reyna pick. While Reyna is quite the off-meta pick Heretics still triumphed on Split to secure their win.
MATCH POINT.
📺 https://t.co/Zg8e98sYk7#VamosHeretics #TakeMyVamos pic.twitter.com/bE39fy9Bau
— Team Heretics (@TeamHeretics) December 3, 2020
Although their success surprised many, for Heretics the preparation for First Strike was just as usual as niesoW said: “We went into First Strike just like any other tournament. We don’t care too much against whom we play.”
ScreaM is a “Fucking Beast!”
But sometimes even their cool-headed approach needs a shakeup. When a “fucking beast” like ScreaM is on the server you need to throw caution to the wind as niesoW says: “In the end you just try to go at him 2on1 to take him down.”
Team Heretics also have the former CS:GO player Christian “loWel” Garcia Antoran in their ranks. loWel is their in-game shotcaller who has led the team to their trophy. But niesoW’s key role as Sova cannot be understated. According to niesoW himself, Sova might just be a bit overpowered: “He gathers so much info with his drones and then even has two shock darts. His ultimate is also extremely strong and has uses like countering Killjoy for example. Sova needs to be in every team.”
You could try playing without Sova, but then your opponents will abuse that and take more room and sit in each and every corner.
“We try to keep calm”
niesoW’s first esport experiences were two years ago in the shooter Battalion 1944. That was also the first time niesoW played competitively in a team.
The secret to their success might just be their mindset going into the game.
“It always depends on whom you face in the match. We try to keep calm in the game. If you trail five rounds, you can still win it. Even if you lose 0-12, you can still win the second half. That is how we think.”
More VALORANT:
- Interview with ScreaM: “VALORANT is not a One-Tap-Game.”
- These problems need to be fixed to make VALORANT a great esport
- VALORANT Champions Tour revealed for 2021
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