"If there's one event we want to win this year, it's London for keiko" - NRG Skuba

The reigning world champions NRG kicked off their VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026 campaign with a 2-0 win against Xi Lai Gaming, a beginning reminiscent of their title run at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions. The wild comeback against EDward Gaming in their opening game in Paris seemed to translate across the Channel when NRG were able to pull off a similar feat against XLG on Map 2.

Amidst the team's ongoing struggles to reclaim that top spot, their resilience continues to shine through. One of the pivotal pieces of such resilience is Logan "skuba" Jenkins, the Sentinel player that keeps the team steady and grounded. It has been a non-stop season, arriving in London almost straight off the EWC Americas qualifiers, so a strong start to the tournament was especially important to him and the rest of the team. We had the opportunity to talk to skuba after the win, discussing Georgio "Keiko" Sanassy's generational performance, his opinion on who the best player in the world is, and finding consistency throughout the grind.

"keiko blessed us with a free win"

THESPIKE: That was such a crazy game. How are you feeling?

skuba: I'm just relieved to get the first win. I think in these internationals it's always really important that you get the first one and you get a good start. And keiko, he blessed us with a free win.

keiko's 60 kills broke the international two-map kill record, which previously stood at 58 by Shao against EDG in Tokyo 2023. With the home crowd on his side, the Brit absolutely delivered for his city.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026

Xi Lai Gaming

0

X

2

NRG

Swiss stage, Best of 3 - June 6, 2026 - 2:00PM

6

Pearl

13

11

Lotus

13

Xi Lai Gaming

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

happywei

1.01

210

34/33/6

+1

1.03

75.9%

137.1

33%

86%

6

1

Lysoar

0.97

167

26/33/19

-7

0.79

75.9%

113.5

23%

67%

2

1

WsLeo

0.89

191

26/34/17

-8

0.76

67.0%

132.8

21%

36%

4

7

NoMan

0.86

192

27/30/8

-3

0.90

65.5%

111.4

34%

42%

5

7

Rarga

0.84

160

25/31/12

-6

0.81

76.4%

101.1

41%

44%

4

5

NRG

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Keiko

1.87

370

60/29/8

+31

2.07

79.6%

229.5

31%

88%

7

1

brawk

0.96

194

24/26/21

-2

0.92

73.9%

142.7

17%

67%

2

1

mada

0.95

184

30/27/8

+3

1.11

69.1%

121.7

25%

43%

6

8

Ethan

0.90

184

27/31/15

-4

0.87

78.1%

116.8

21%

33%

4

8

skuba

0.78

145

20/25/17

-5

0.80

69.6%

101.2

20%

40%

2

3

THESPIKE: Throughout the lower bracket run back in Americas, it felt like you guys were rallying around the idea of doing it for keiko. How does that energy transpire throughout the team?

skuba: After VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026, when we lost and came third, we finally had a team talk and we said, you know what, you can't win every event. And we said if there's one event we want to win this year, it's London for keiko. So that's really the goal right now for the whole team. Everyone's focused. We want to get him his trophy, get him his banner in game: VCT Masters London winner. That would be insane.

THESPIKE: What was that team talk like off the back of Santiago?

skuba: It was all positives. Qualifying for the first international, and now we're here for the second, it's all pluses. It's been a big meta change since then, but everything's pretty positive in the team.

Adjusting to keiko's presence after s0m's departure

THESPIKE: It's not easy coming off a Champs win and going straight back into the season. We've seen the Champs curse multiple times. How does it affect how the team approaches things?

skuba: After we lost Sam "s0m" Oh to go stream, we had a lot of talks about needing to go back to a clean slate and become a new team. We can't just one-for-one trade s0m for keiko, they're not the same people at all. s0m was very vocal, an emotional leader. keiko's a little quieter, but he has insane firepower. So we had to adjust things for everyone. Going into it we have the confidence, we're world champs, but we kind of just keep it like a new slate.

THESPIKE: With the energy and comms that s0m brought, who picks up that mantle on the team now?

skuba: We've divided it a lot. It's mainly me and Adam "mada" Pampuch right now. Just messing around with each other, making each other laugh, and when things are low, trying to bring people up. So I'd say me and mada took most of the responsibility for that.

Scouting out the competition

THESPIKE: I don't know who your next opponent is going to be, but do you have any words for them?

skuba: Good luck. I want to play against FULL SENSE, against Papaphat "Primmie" Sriprapha. I think he's the best mechanically in all of VALORANT, in my opinion.

THESPIKE: Another recurring debate is the Americas versus Pacific question. You've seen Frost saying something like the fifth or sixth best Pacific team is top two in NA. What do you think are the main differences between the two regions?

skuba: Top two? I don't know about top two. Maybe top three or four. I'll give the APAC players mechanics, they've got it down to a T, almost all the teams there. In Americas it is a bit top heavy. But more than ever, all teams in every region are getting better, so I don't think it's fair to say that anymore. A lot of the Americas teams have caught up to the top two, which I'd say is us and G2 Esports.

THESPIKE: So apart from you guys and G2, who do you think are the favourites to win the event?

skuba: You've got to say Paper Rex. You've got to respect the dominance they've had for so long in this game. And I'll throw in a dark horse: I want to see EDG win, honestly. I feel like it'd be fun.

Finding consistency amidst a busy season

THESPIKE: I wanted to move on to you as a player. You came in during Stage 2 last year and basically just played through that Champs run. This season's a bit different, it's a longer grind. How has the switch from 2025 to the 2026 season been for you?

skuba: It's been a big change. Like we talked about, a lot of responsibilities in the team have shifted, so me and mada picking up more of an emotional and supportive role has changed a lot of stuff for me. Also, not having a break almost at all. We've just kept going over and over, and you've got to be at peak performance. It's very hard. That's one of the biggest things this year: staying on top of your game for very long periods is very hard.

THESPIKE: Consistency is a really big factor. What kind of routines have you incorporated to deal with that?

skuba: Just staying consistent in everything. Diet, health, everything. Sticking to a routine outside of the game makes you feel so much better, so when it's time to compete, you're there.

THESPIKE: And what has that routine been for you specifically?

skuba: A lot of walking, a lot of being outside and getting sunlight, and trying to stay on a healthy-ish diet.

THESPIKE: Thank you so much for the interview, and good luck for your next game.

NRG play next on 8 June to fight for a ticket into playoffs. Catch all the action from London at THESPIKE.GG