TURKEY – BOOM Esports became the first team to pack their bags from Istanbul following their losses to ZETA DIVISION and OpTic Gaming in the group stage of VALORANT Champions 2022. Nevertheless, the debut of the Indonesian representatives had a glimpse of what we can call future international contenders, as they snatched a map from both the more established Japanese and American teams.

It’s a long way for Gary “blaZek1ng” Dastin looking back how far he has gotten, having played under the Hungry Beast banner since its entry into VALORANT in July 2020. Now, he is the sole remaining player from BOOM’s first roster iteration. You can read more on the story behind blaZek1ng’s journey in the professional esports scene here. 

In an interview with VALO2ASIA after the ZETA DIVISION match, blaZek1ng spoke about his first on-stage experience in the Riot-developed FPS, as well as key takeaways after playing against some of the world’s finest, among others. 

blaZek1ng: It has been wonderful to have a chance to compete outside of Indonesia and meet more new people. The last time I competed abroad was in 2018 back in Shanghai, China, for the yearly-held eXTREMESLAND tournament. 

The target here was completely different than in the past. When I played the tournament abroad in the past, I still had a chance to go somewhere and have fun, but this time, right after we landed in Turkey, we did a lot of scrim matches and media things, so I did not have time to see around Istanbul during the group stage. 

blaZek1ng: It was not a big difference for me, as I have had experience playing on LAN. It was a first-time experience one, however, for some of my teammates, such as Rizkie “BerserX” Adla Kusuma, to play in this LAN environment. Rather than playing online, I really like playing on LAN.

ALSO READ : Riot Games release “Road to Champions – Jinggg” mini-documentary

blaZek1ng : We mostly scrim against teams from outside our groups, such as FURIA Esports and KRU Esports. Not every team in Champions wants to scrim us. Nonetheless, we had scrims against several European teams that did not make Champions.

Their approach to the game, as well as their individual decision-making, set them apart from teams in Asia. North American teams have chaotic playstyles, while South American teams prefer a medium pace. European teams play at a more leisurely tempo.

blaZek1ng: SEVERiNE and I are best friends. So, I asked him, “Do you want to be in Champions?” and he said yes, so I brought his jersey with me to Istanbul and wore it for my first walkout. There is no special story behind that actually [laughs].

blaZek1ng: It was simply a call from Saibani “fl1pzjder” Rahmad to just go through zipline, but Austin “crashies” Roberts was already there waiting for us. [After we entered the zipline], it happened, and we just laughed at the time; we could not do anything about it.

blaZek1ng: I feel that having a winning mindset was important coming into the game versus ZETA DIVISION, but going into the third map, we had some miscommunications. Perhaps it was us who hand not moved on from the setback on the second map.

blaZek1ng: There is nothing different about each team we were playing, as they are also humans who can make mistakes and errors. We should have played more confidently and not be afraid of making risky plays.

ALSO READ : VALORANT Champions hits playoffs

blaZek1ng: I think based on performance, Leviatan will take the Champions trophy. They can play both slow and fast gameplay, and their firepower is impressive; they have a good chance of becoming the world champions this year. 

blaZek1ng: We will just focus on improving our roster internally and preparing for upcoming tournaments that come in our way, regardless of whether we secure a franchise slot.

blaZek1ng: Thank you very much to everyone who has supported me, especially since the beginning of BOOM Esports VALORANT; I really appreciate it and am sorry that I cannot respond to everyone one by one. Thank you for believing in our current roster until today. I apologize if we cannot deliver a good performance that you guys expect yet, but it is what it is.

For more insights on the Asian VALORANT scene and upcoming content like this, be sure to like and follow VALO2ASIA on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Cover Photo courtesy by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

All times in SGT(UTC+8)

VALO2ASIA is an esports media team working to cultivate the competitive VALORANT scene in Asia. Our focus revolves around: developing the Asian VALORANT community, creating original and engaging content for VALORANT esports, and building partnerships to better enable VALORANT teams and players in Asia.

© 2020-2021 VALO2ASIA | IMPLS Entertainment Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. This website is not affiliated with or sponsored by Riot Games, Inc. or VALORANT Esports.