SRG alexis: “I take a lot of pride in my utility usage”
Zahk
|
Share:
Hotspawn spoke with Shopify Rebellion’s Alexis “alexis” Guarrasi after SRG eliminated MIBR in the 2025 Game Changers Championship lower final, securing their spot in the Grand Finals in Seoul and setting up a rematch versus Team Liquid Brazil.
Hotspawn: So, firstly, I wanted to ask you,
How are you feeling after that win?
Alexis: Feeling quite good. I honestly, I don’t normally get nervous, but that one, I was a little bit nervous because I know MIBR is such a good team and I know that they were going to prep really well after the first time that we beat them. So I definitely was a little bit nervous going into it. But I’m glad we came out on top of it all.
Hotspawn: You kind of see the difference, because the last time you played them in that upper bracket, it was a 13-1 on Pearl, and this time it was so much closer. In fact, they even took the lead.
So talk me through that little bit of a comeback at the end.
Alexis: I obviously was expecting them to have improved from the game, but they had such a massive improvement. Obviously we made some little mistakes, but I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be that close. I didn’t think that we were going to do great on Split just because that is their best map. They are like, a Split master class team, they have not dropped it once, so props to them for having such a great Split. But, yeah, it was definitely a close game, for sure.
Hotspawn: 100%. It was such a banger map. Do you get jitters sometimes on stage at this point?”
Alexis: I don’t get jitters, but my hands get sweaty. That’s why I have a towel next to me so I can wipe my hands. It’s also like the hottest stage I’ve ever played on. Like, normally we’re freezing on stage, but we’re actually sweating this time.
Hotspawn: “Oh, wow. Really? It’s freezing outside. So I guess they’re compensating for it.
So was it different losing on LAN compared to losing online?
Alexis: Well, me and meL have lost on LAN on Cloud9 a couple years ago, the first GC in 2022. It didn’t feel as bad as that, because I feel like we’ve lost a lot in coed throughout the year and learned so much from those losses, we understand that a loss just means that you’re going to learn so much from it. And right after the game, we literally went back, VOD reviewed for three or four hours together, played ranked, spent a lot of time together, and we made sure that we, going into today, weren’t going to be tilted, we weren’t going to be thinking about that loss at all. We’re just going to go into it, learning from everything that happened and applying it to this game.
Hotspawn: Having played in Challengers this year,
How do you think that it has helped you improve?
Alexis: Honestly, losing to teams of that caliber, tier one, tier two teams, helps us learn so much. Even getting s*** on in a 13-0, we learn so much from every little thing. Even if we’re just stealing what they’re doing, we’re like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s really smart. I didn’t even think of that.’ So it, honestly, it helps us tenfold, especially when we’re winning against TSM. They go on to be Ascension finalists, so it’s like, ‘Damn, we really took them down. That’s crazy.’ So, yeah, we learn a lot through every loss.
Hotspawn: You’re one of the most flexible players. You play Breach one map, and then you play KJ, and then of course there’s your KAY/O.
How do you maintain that flexibility between roles and how do you keep improving as a player?
Alexis: I take a lot of pride in my util usage. That is what I prioritise being really good at. So whenever I’m put on a new agent, even before I play it a single time, I’ll watch two to five VODs on it to make sure I have all the util down so that when I go into ranked to practise it before our scrims, or when I go into scrims, I’m 100% prepared.
And then also having effys as a coach, he’s really, really good at helping me out with stuff like that. I think I just have really good utility and so that’s the basis of being a good flex player.
Hotspawn: It’s been a very long year, all of you guys mentioned it in the press conference.
How has the whole run been, balancing your schedule, figuring out practice times and playing in both GC and Challengers?
Alexis: It’s a lot, to be totally frank with you. So when we’re in the Challenger circuit and GC at the same time, we get one day off a week, maximum, sometimes not even that. So going back to back, ‘Okay, we have GC match on Monday, our Challengers matches on Thursday. We have a day off Saturday and then full prac on Sunday to prepare for our next match.’ So it was a lot for a while, and we got very little breaks compared to the year prior when we weren’t in Challengers.
So it was a lot. Like we were saying in the press conference, we are kind of at our most burnt out, but also at our highest passion and energy at the same time because we are here and this is what our year has kind of built up to. So after this, win or lose, we’re able to relax at least.
Hotspawn: What would you say is your biggest learning from Challengers, and everything else that you managed to achieve?
Alexis: I think for me personally it was the value of being a good emotional leader and being able to keep the vibes up for my team, and the impact that that has on everyone’s mental in game and out of game. I think that I leaned into that a lot this year, and especially with effys’ guidance. He had a talk with me where he was like, ‘You will be the MVP if you can consistently just hype everyone up,’ because a lot of my other aspects as a player are doing well. So, yeah, that was the one thing I leaned in on, and I think I did a pretty good job.
Image credit: Riot Games
Hotspawn: Talking about you in particular, having that patch hit right before the tournament.
So for an Initiator player in particular, as someone who mainly plays KAY/O and Breach, how has it affected your playstyle and your gameplay?
Alexis: So after the patch hit, Loic (effys) was like, ‘Yeah, so because you’re the flex player, you’re going to have to be super flexible and you’re going to be the guinea pig for all of our new strats,’ because we had no idea what the meta was going to turn into. And because I was always the moving piece, I had to try so many different things, which I don’t mind, I like playing different roles. So, yeah, that was just a lot because I’ll watch my four VODs on a character, we’ll play two scrims, and we’re like, ‘That was ass.’ And then it’s like, ‘Well, I just put in all that energy and effort for nothing.’
But it’s still fine. I still like doing it. I like the studying aspect of Valorant where I could just sit and watch VODs and listen to a podcast and, like, just do my thing. But yeah, if going from Initiator to Sentinel to Initiator, and now I play Initiator and Sentinel is like, jeez.
Hotspawn: Tomorrow, what do you think is going to be the biggest challenge versus Team Liquid?
Alexis: I don’t know. I honestly think if we play our game, win or lose, we’re going to be fine, to be honest. I think as if we go into it learning from our mistakes from the past game, I don’t think we’re gonna have a problem, to be honest.”
Hotspawn: Do you think the double map ban is going to cause problems for you guys?
Alexis: Well, we might have to play Bind and that perhaps would not be great. But, you know, it’s fine.
Hotspawn: Still a best-of-five.
Alexis: Yeah, it’s great.
Hotspawn: It’s just one map.
Alexis: It’s just one map. It’s fine.
Hotspawn: You’ve been to every iteration of the GCC.
I just wanted to ask you if you could describe each year in a couple of words?
Alexis: 2022: tragic. Unlucky really. We were bums. At the end of the day, we were bums.
Zahk plays and watches a lot of video games, especially Valorant, when she’s home, and travels the world the rest of the time, usually a book in hand. She loves telling stories, coffee, and living life like an adventure.
