Saadhak remains defiant after KRÜ’s loss: “This is not the end for us”

KRÜ Esports has endured a difficult run in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 2, managing just one victory across five Group Stage matches. However, following their latest win over Sentinels, the team appears to have regained some of its lost confidence, as Matias "Saadhak" Delipetro explained in an interview with THESPIKE.

Despite securing a victory over BESTIA on the first day of the Play-Ins, KRÜ Esports were unable to overcome MIBR in their following match. The loss sent them into the Lower Bracket, where they now face a do-or-die battle for their tournament lives and a spot in the Playoffs.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 2

MIBR

2

X

0

KRÜ Esports

Upper Bracket Quarter Final, Best of 3 - August 15, 2026 - 9:00PM

13

Breeze

6

13

Sunset

6

MIBR

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

zekken

1.36

247

34/21/15

+13

1.62

78.9%

149.0

29%

86%

6

1

Verno

1.28

228

34/20/10

+14

1.70

81.6%

154.5

25%

75%

3

1

Mazino

1.26

216

30/23/22

+7

1.30

81.6%

139.7

35%

57%

4

3

tex

1.06

204

28/22/10

+6

1.27

81.6%

137.2

31%

60%

6

4

aspas

0.86

190

25/25/7

0

1.00

73.7%

132.2

26%

40%

4

6

KRÜ Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

mwzera

1.25

256

35/27/8

+8

1.30

76.3%

174.8

30%

60%

3

2

heat

0.79

172

24/27/2

-3

0.89

65.8%

117.8

49%

43%

3

4

Saadhak

0.67

141

14/32/19

-18

0.44

60.5%

101.4

22%

40%

2

3

Less

0.67

150

20/30/6

-10

0.67

52.6%

104.3

27%

17%

1

5

Dantedeu5

0.63

161

18/35/7

-17

0.51

57.9%

110.0

28%

40%

6

9

Searching for redemption

THESPIKE: KRÜ's Breeze has been a major problem for you in Stage 2, with five losses and just one victory. What do you think is missing from your strategy that is preventing you from closing out matches, especially when you have such a strong advantage early on?

Saadhak: "I think it's a map that we're still trying to understand. It's a map that we've definitely had difficulties on. To solve that tactically, we need to take a step back and look at what happened. We started very well, but then we kind of lost our momentum, and it became difficult from there."

THESPIKE: What has changed for KRÜ between the Group Stage and the team we’ve seen in these Play-Ins, first against BESTIA and now against MIBR?

Saadhak: "I think we came into these matches with a much better mindset. That’s something we’ve improved a lot, our mood and the way we approach games. Tactically, I think we’re also better, but we haven’t had much time together as a team. So we’re focusing on that. Keeping a good mindset, communicating well, and making sure we’re all on the same page."

A new opportunity for Tier 2

KRÜ was among the Tier 1 teams to secure a victory over a Challengers side, something all four Americas teams managed to achieve. This goes against the recent trend in other regions, particularly EMEA, where Challengers teams have found increasing success against Tier 1 opposition. Saadhak believes the issue is not a lack of talent or individual skill, but rather a structural problem.

THESPIKE: In Stage 2, we’ve seen a lot of Challengers teams succeeding, especially in Europe. However, teams in North America seem to be struggling more. Why do you think Challengers teams are having more difficulties in VCT Americas?

Saadhak: "It’s hard to say because, for example, in Tier 2, we also have teams from NA and Brazil. In Brazil, it makes a little more sense for them to be weaker because, geographically, they can’t compete against us as much or regularly practice against Tier 1 teams. But if you look at EMEA, the Tier 2 teams are much stronger because they get a lot more practice against the top teams. I think that’s one of the reasons.

Also, a lot of Tier 2 players compete online, and when they move to a LAN environment, things can change a little. I believe there are several different factors that end up affecting it."

Navigating a challenging year

Since the beginning of the year, the organization has endured a difficult period. From VISA issues that prevented the main roster from competing in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Kickoff to roster changes following VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 1, KRÜ has been fighting to find its footing as it enters its final opportunity to make an impact in VCT Americas 2026.

We couldn’t make it to Kickoff, and we had to change a player, so it’s been difficult. For a team to really come together, it takes time, you know? The most solid teams, at least from what we’ve seen in NA, are usually the ones that have had the same core and played together for a long time. You need to understand how each member of the team works, their personality and the overall dynamic. When you’re adding new tactical elements, you also have to communicate a lot and have plenty of discussions.

However, despite all the challenges the team has faced, the in-game leader remains confident that KRÜ can find its footing and turn things around with better results.

We have to keep working on our mistakes, especially our tactical mistakes in the server. But we’re going to keep working, and we’re not going to give up. We’ll be there because we want to make the Playoffs. We know it’s a loss, but it’s not the end of the journey for us. We want to get there. We want to go to São Paulo. So we’re going to give it our all. If we have to train for 15 hours, we’ll train for 15 hours.

Carrying Argentina’s flag

One of Saadhak’s biggest goals is to bring success to Latin America, especially when that means representing Argentina with the country’s flag on his chest. Ahead of the ENC - Esports Nations Cup 2026, Saadhak revealed how proud and excited he was to receive the invitation to represent his country in the competition.

Unfortunately, because I was here with Dante, we weren’t able to play in the Qualifiers. We watched the matches and were still part of the team, but I think it was a sensational, unique opportunity. It was one of my dreams to participate and represent my country. It was something I really wanted, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to do so. Dante and I weren’t having the best time at that point, but I hope that at the ENC, we’ll be able to fit in much better and represent Latin America well.

VCT Americas 2026 Stage 2 Play-Ins

The VCT Americas 2026 Stage 2 Play-Ins stage goes from August 13 to August 23. Only four teams will advance to the Playoffs, where they will battle for a place at VALORANT Champions 2026, which is set to take place in Shanghai, China.

For all things VCT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

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