“My new objective is winning this whole tournament” - erde on LOUD making Playoffs

Four out of four Americas teams have made it to the Playoffs of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai. The region stood strong as LOUD took down Global Esports 2-0 in the final match of the Group Stage.

THESPIKE had the opportunity to speak to LOUD’s IGL, Roberto "erde" Lobos, about the achievement, his time and experience on the team, and much more.

LOUD back on track

LOUD has impressed everyone by being one of the eight Playoffs teams at Champs. Considering they were struggling in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 1 and had new players join as late as August, the team has exceeded expectations at the global event, as well as at home regionally.

As an organization, LOUD has had a rough couple of years. The last time they qualified for an international event before Shanghai was back in 2024 at VCT 2024 - Masters Madrid.

THESPIKE: Can you tell me a little bit how it feels to have qualified to the Playoffs?

erde: ”It feels really great. When I was at Stage One, we were kind of losing everything. And I said, we're gonna qualify for the Champions anyway, I don't care. And yeah, we did it and now we're in the Playoffs. That's a surprise for me. But to be fair, my new objective is winning this whole tournament. So yeah, looking forward to it.”

THESPIKE: Last time LOUD won Champs was in 2022. Do you feel like you are at that level that you can bring it home?

erde: Oh yeah. For sure. I think we're playing a good VALORANT game. The game versus Team Vitality, we were not playing anything, to be fair. Our game plan was a little bit bad. We were not confident. So I think we showed our game today versus GE. And I think we're gonna bring that level like every game.”

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai

LOUD

2

X

0

Global Esports

Group B - Decider Match, Best of 3 - October 4, 2026 - 9:00AM

13

Split

8

13

Sunset

9

LOUD

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

erde

1.54

287

46/23/15

+23

2.00

81.4%

172.4

37%

60%

6

4

luk xo

1.18

242

37/28/9

+9

1.32

81.4%

161.6

30%

64%

7

4

Darker

1.16

252

35/29/13

+6

1.21

71.8%

164.8

28%

67%

6

3

tkzin

0.96

189

30/35/10

-5

0.86

58.0%

130.1

46%

30%

3

7

DaviH

0.86

153

23/25/18

-2

0.92

74.5%

109.7

23%

0%

0

3

Global Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

PatMen

1.39

264

45/33/5

+12

1.36

76.8%

167.8

42%

80%

4

1

autumn

0.98

218

31/36/11

-5

0.86

72.1%

137.5

23%

42%

5

7

xavi8k

0.86

183

25/31/13

-6

0.81

58.3%

120.5

24%

57%

4

3

Kr1stal

0.65

134

20/32/10

-12

0.63

57.9%

79.0

24%

14%

1

6

UdoTan

0.64

143

19/39/13

-20

0.49

62.8%

87.5

18%

58%

7

5

Learning from mistakes

It was Team Vitality who beat LOUD in the upper bracket of Group B and forced them to play an elimination game against GE. For LOUD, the game against Vitality came with many lessons that they brought with them into the final game of the Group Stage. erde also had to reset his mentality after the Vitality game, with the help of his family.

THESPIKE: Did you learn something from the Vitality game that made you better today?

erde: Yeah for sure. After the game versus Vitality, we learned as a team, how to do better game plans and how to understand the enemy better. And the other thing individually, I was kind of disappointed in myself because I was fighting everyone in practice and in tournaments before Champions. And I was like, bro, why am I not doing the same. So I had to adjust myself mentally. Thanks to my dad, my brother and my friends, they helped me a lot.

THESPIKE: Is your family a part of your motivation to win or what motivates you as a player?

Erde: Yeah, it motivates me a lot. I think I help my dad to accomplish his own dreams. I don't know, it fills me a lot when I play. And yeah, I think, doing it for my brothers, they are like, really, really, good brothers. I don't know how to say it. And my mom, I love her so much.

Young team

The LOUD squad that was created in late 2026 is fairly young, with the oldest player being David "DaviH" Cruz at 23 years old. Not only are they young in age, but they are also new to the VCT stage. All of the players are making their debut on the global VCT stage at Champs.

erde is leading the successful squad while only being 18 years old. Early on, he set a goal for himself, and he is steadily making his way there, one match at a time.

THESPIKE: You're only eighteen years old and you're an IGL for a big team. How do you like the role? How do you feel like playing on stage as a young player?

erde: “Yeah, it feels great. A year ago, I didn't think that I was gonna do anything like this. So yeah, I don't know if it feels wonderful. Like a year ago, I said, like, I'm going to be in the top five in Americas and I think I'm doing it right now. I'm accomplishing something that I said before.”

THESPIKE: Do you feel like you can get even better?

erde: “For sure. I think I can get more constant (consistent). I think I'm a player who plays well (for) like three, four matches and then it (my form) goes down. This time was because of personal problems but I think this time I'm pretty confident in like, okay, I can bounce back and stay there for years.”

THESPIKE: How do you all feel on the team? Do you feel pressure?

erde: “To be fair, pressure is always there. But the thing is, you have to use it for your own advantage. So yeah, everyone feels pressure. I feel pressure, but it's not that hard, you know? I can do crazy things, I can carry everyone or I can do whatever they need me to do. So yeah, I'm pretty confident of myself. I don't feel too much pressure.”

The best region

As all Americas teams survived the Group Stage, half of the teams in the Playoffs are from the Americas. In a previous interview with THESPIKE, G2 Esports’s Nathan "leaf" Orf expressed that he thinks all Americas teams will make a deep Playoffs run and that the results really show which region is the strongest right now. erde agrees with that sentiment.

"I would say America is the best region right now. I think there's no doubt to be fair. And in the past they said the Pacific was like the best region. We just beat their best team. So I think we evolve better in the game. So I would say we are the strongest region."

THESPIKE: How do you feel about the teams going into the Playoffs? It's going to be like hard competition. The best teams in the world. How do you prepare for that as a team?

erde: You prepare mentally first. I will say, I have to focus on the next enemy. And yeah, focus mentally knowing you're capable of doing it. And when you feel that you're capable, just watch VODs from them and prepare yourself strategically.

THESPIKE: Is there any team you would love to face off?

erde: I would think Paper Rex is fun. But the main thing for me is like, because they are like the most famous team in their region. So I would say imagine the biggest team of Brazil versus the biggest team in the Pacific, it would be a crazy match. So I would love that.

erde's wish became reality as the Playoffs draw pinned PRX and LOUD against each other. They play Wednesday, October 7.

For more VCT interviews, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

Featured image source: Riot Games.