"I can’t say much right now but we will show what we are capable of," ScreaM at VCT LOCK IN Press Conference

The highly anticipated KICK//OFF event, marking the start of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023, is set to take place in Sao Paulo on February 13. Before the intense competition begins, a press conference was held, bringing together representatives from each team to answer questions and give insights on their strategies, opponents, the event, and more. THESPIKE.GG, too, was provided the opportunity to participate in this event and we managed to instigate noteworthy responses from a few participants:

• Conference 1: Gen.G Esports - Lee "k1Ng" Seung-won
• Conference 2: Karmine Corp- Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom
• Conference 3: Cloud9 - Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker
• Conference 4: Evil Geniuses- Ethan "Ethan" Arnold, Talon Esports – Thanamethk "Crws" Mahatthananuyut

Gen. G representing Korea

THESPIKE.GG: How does it feel to be representing Gen.G from the Korean scene? Is there any extra pressure to prove yourselves as a new roster?

Lee "k1Ng" Seung-won - We are here to represent Korea and take great pride in that. I feel like there’s no need to talk how well our roster will perform because people will have the chance to see it for themselves.

Karmine Corp debuts roster

THESPIKE.GG: How would you rate your roster stacking up against the rest of the competition especially after all the roster changes this off-season?

Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom - I can’t say much right now but we will get to show what we are capable of. I am sure a lot of people will be surprised, especially if we are able to replicate our success in scrims on the main stage.

yay’s arrival into the Cloud9 roster

THESPIKE.GG: How do you think your arrival into the line-up has affected the roles of other members and how effective has that transition been?

Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker - I wouldn’t say it has been painstaking because the majority of players on our team are pretty flexible. Obviously, there was a little downtime initially as we tried to figure out a few different things. But we had a decent amount of time to prepare, so it wasn’t a huge deal.

Patiphan’s return and EG’s eight-man roster

THESPIKE.GG: Is there a potential timeline for the return of Patiphan to the team and how crucial will his absence be to the team’s performance at the event?

Thanamethk "Crws" Mahatthananuyut - There’s no exact timeline per se, but he should be ready for the regular season in Korea. His absence will most likely affect our performance here because he was a part of the scrims for a greater part of the last month and we had to find a replacement when he left for surgery.

THESPIKE.GG: You have one of the largest rosters in the scene with several people on the bench. What was the main reason behind this decision? Did it also tie in with having a relatively unchanged roster from last season?

Ethan "Ethan" Arnold - We haven’t finalized the roster yet, at least for the other five members. For now, however, they are mainly used for in-house practice so that we don’t have to do it against competitors.

Answers edited for clarity. Featured image courtesy of Riot Games